Indonesia’s Pertamina International Shipping is behind two handysize dual-fuel LPG carrier newbuildings contracted at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard on Thursday.
Senior executives at the Indonesian tanker giant confirmed to TradeWinds that it was behind the order that Hyundai Mipo parent HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering announced had been signed with an unnamed Asian shipping company .
The South Korean shipbuilding group said the contract is worth KRW 172.4bn ($130m) or $65m for each ship. Ulsan-based HMD is scheduled to deliver them by October 2026.
Shipping players following Hyundai activities said the price for the two 23,000-cbm vessels reflects the pair being dual-fuel.
This is the second newbuilding contract that Pertamina International has signed with HMD this year.
Last month, it ordered five MR clean petroleum tankers, five MR dirty petroleum tankers and five MR IMO type 2/3 chemical/product tankers at the medium-sized shipyard. The total value of that contract was $716m.
All 15 vessels in this mammoth order are scheduled to be delivered by November 2026.
Pertamina International has been transforming in recent years from a maritime logistics provider for a state-owned oil major to a stand-alone for-profit tanker company that is positioning itself as a global player.
The company has set a $3bn budget for fleet renewal and diversification over the next five years on tankers, LPG carriers and LNG carriers, and has moved steadily forward in accomplishing that goal.
Apart from ordering newbuildings, it has acquired modern secondhand tonnage.
Chief executive Yoki Firnandi told TradeWinds in a 2023 interview that the newer vessels will operate in the international market, where they can earn higher rates.
The company has already signed several long-term charter deals with large international operators.
Older tankers, both owned and chartered, will continue to be used in the Indonesian trade, although Firnandi stressed that Pertamina International was committed to improving the standards of the domestic fleet.
HD KSOE is the holding company of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and HMD.
It has orders for 42 newbuildings worth $4.9bn so far this year, or 36.3% of its $13.5bn target.
