South Korea’s Hyundai Glovis is expanding its fleet portfolio to include VLGCs with an order worth an estimated $168m.
The car carrier specialist has signed up for two 86,000-cbm LPG carrier newbuildings at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. They are due to be delivered by mid-2024.
Sources in the gas shipping market said Hyundai Glovis did not order the two gas carriers on speculation. The Seoul-based shipping company is said to have booked the VLGCs on the back of charter contracts from trader Trafigura.
An official at Hyundai Glovis confirmed the order, although he declined to comment if the gas carriers are fixed out to Trafigura. Trafigura also declined to comment.
The LPG shipping market sources said the trading house may have hired the VLGCs for five to seven years. The charter rate is not known but Hyundai Glovis is paying close to $84m each for the gas carriers, which will be able to run on both LPG and conventional fuels.
If Trafigura is behind the fixtures, it would bring to six the number of Hyundai Samho-built VLGC newbuildings the trader has chartered this year.
In May, Trafigura was reported to have fixed two dual-fuel, 86,000-cbm newbuildings from Eastern Pacific Shipping and another two from SK Shipping, also on contracts lasting five to seven years.
The charter deal with Eastern Pacific was also a VLGC market debut for the Idan Ofer-controlled company. As for SK Shipping, it was the first time it had chartered out VLGCs to a foreign company.
Trafigura is also expanding its owned VLGC tonnage. Last month, it took delivery of the 90,000-cbm Ballavista Explorer (built 2021) from Hyundai Samho. The company is slated to take delivery of another newbuilding, to be named Monte Rosa Explorer, in November from the same South Korean shipyard.
The trader ordered the duo two years ago at a reported price of $81.5m apiece.
Trafigura also has four LPG-fuelled midsize gas carriers under construction at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD). The 40,000-cbm newbuildings were ordered between late last year and early this year. The quartet is due for delivery in 2022 and 2023.
Hyundai Glovis may be new to the LPG segment, but the company owns two LNG ships — the 173,000-cbm Flex Endeavour and Flex Enterprise (both built 2018). The duo was previously owned by John Fredriksen’s Flex LNG. But that company sold them in 2019 in a $420m sale-and-leaseback deal with Hyundai Glovis.
Shipping players familiar with Hyundai Glovis said the company is keen to expand its presence in the LNG sector. It is participating in Qatar’s LNG newbuilding tender, which is seeking up to 150 vessels. The South Korean owner is said to be offering two newbuildings.
Hyundai Glovis controls a fleet of 48 vessels comprising 32 car carriers, two capesize bulkers, three kamsarmaxes, five VLCCs, two LNG carriers and four small chemical tankers.
The company has three VLCC newbuildings under construction at Hyundai Samho. It will take delivery of one crude carrier next month and the remaining two in 2022.
