Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) says it has sealed orders for 10 LNG carrier newbuildings worth KRW 2.87trn ($2.3bn).

It has also sold three cancelled LNG ships that saw the company pocket $246m, which is almost the cost of one LNG newbuilding.

In a regulatory filing, the South Korean group said a European owner has ordered eight vessels, while an “Oceania shipper” has booked two.

KSOE did not disclose the identity of the companies behind the contracts but said Hyundai Heavy Industries will build the eight 174,000-cbm newbuildings for the unnamed European owner, while Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries will construct the other two vessels.

The ships are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2026.

Shipbuilding sources have linked the eight-vessel order to Norway’s Knutsen OAS Shipping and the remaining two ships to Greece’s TMS Cardiff Gas.

They said Knutsen’s octet is related to QatarEnergy’s LNG project.

QatarEnergy has reserved up to 151 LNG carrier berths at four yards — KSOE, Samsung Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. So far, 57 berths are reported to have been declared.

Qatar needs the ships because it is increasing its LNG production from 77m tonnes to 126m tonnes by 2027.

If it is true that Knutsen is behind the eight-vessel order, the deal would lift the total number of LNG carriers that it has signed for at HHI to 10. The earlier two ships were ordered last month for the Qatari project.

TMS’ two-ship order at Hyundai Samho would be its second LNG newbuilding contract this year. In May, it was reported to have booked two vessels at SHI at more than $230.7m each for delivery by March 2026.

KSOE also said it has sold three cancelled LNG newbuildings that were slated to be delivered between August 2023 and August 2024.

It cited “disruption of key supply parts” for the cancellation and said it was agreed by the Liberian owner.

KSOE did not name the buyers, but said one vessel was sold to an “Oceania-registered shipper” for KRW 314bn and an “Oceanian shipping line” has paid about $483m for the other two.

Hyundai Samho, which is building these three ships, was reported to have contracted them early last year at an average price of $159m apiece.

KSOE, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai — previously known as Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings — is the holding company for HHI, Hyundai Samho and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.

KSOE said it has contracted orders to build 137 ships worth $17.34bn so far this year, almost achieving its target of $17.44bn.