Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines is being named as the company behind a KRW 609.7bn ($496.4m) order for two LNG carriers contracted at Samsung Heavy Industries.
The South Korean shipbuilder said in an exchange announcement on Wednesday that it had received the orders from “an Oceanian shipper” without naming the company behind the vessels.
SHI said the newbuildings are due for delivery from mid-January 2027.
Newbuilding sources said MOL is the contracting party. TradeWinds has contacted the shipowner for confirmation and comment.
The new contract values the newbuildings at $248.2m each, which is below the level of $253m last done deals on standard 174,000-cbm LNG carriers.
MOL last paid $214.3m when it confirmed LNG carrier orders at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in April 2022.
The shipowner, which announced charter deals with TotalEnergies and Gail (India) on its LNG newbuildings, would appear to be sitting on two open LNG carriers that deliver in 2026.
These latest SHI orders would appear to be among the first firm LNG orders for 2027 delivery dates.
Korean shipbuilders have been reluctant to release berths for LNG carrier construction for any handover dates beyond 2026.
There have also been concerns about how much space remains for LNG carriers in 2027.
QatarEnergy is sitting on up to 40 pre-reserved LNG carrier slots at Korea’s big three shipbuilders, which are expected to be confirmed this year.
In addition, the 17-berths being held for the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG project at SHI and Hyundai Heavy Industries have been pushed into 2027 and 2028.
In January, TradeWinds reported that MOL, along with Maran Gas Maritime, had not firmed up expected single LNG carrier orders signed at DSME.
Brokers described the business as “temporised”.
Korean defense and energy conglomerate Hanwha is in the process of taking over a controlling stake in DSME for KRW 2trn from the Korea Development Bank.
The deal still needs to be approved by foreign competition regulators. Hanwha said it is expected to be completed by mid-2023.
To date, SHI has netted orders worth around $2bn, amounting to 21% of its $9.5bn target for 2023.
The company has exceeded its order targets — $12.2bn in 2021 and $9.4bn for 2022 — in the previous two years.
