Pertamina International Shipping has finalised an order for 15 product tankers at South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
TradeWinds first reported on the Indonesian tanker giant’s intention to order the vessels last December although it was unclear whether all would be built to the same specifications.
Pertamina International sources said on Tuesday that the final order comprises five MR clean petroleum tankers, five MR dirty petroleum tankers and five MR IMO type 2/3 chemical/product tankers.
All 15 ships will have a capacity of 50,000 dwt.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, or HD KSOE — the holding company for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and HMD — priced the contract at KRW 942.5bn ($716.2m).
HMD is scheduled to deliver all of Pertamina International’s product carriers by November 2026.
HD KSOE said that with the Indonesian order in the bag, it had achieved 8.8% or $1.19bn of its 2024 order target of $13.5bn. The other contracts included in the tally are two VLGCs and two very large ammonia carriers.
Pertamina International has been transformed in recent years, from a maritime logistics provider for a state-owned oil major to a standalone for-profit tanker company that is positioning itself as a global player.
Chief executive Yoki Firnandi told TradeWinds during an exclusive interview in September that the company was in the midst of a $3bn fleet-renewal and diversification scheme, with the cash to be spent over the next five years on tankers, LPG carriers and LNG carriers.
Last December, Pertamina International splashed out $240m to acquire two 91,000-cbm VLGC newbuilding resales from Avance Gas.
TradeWinds reported on Tuesday that Pertamina International had also acquired a 2020-built suezmax tanker from NGM Energy for a reported $86m.
Pertamina International’s tanker order is the third newbuilding contract that HD KSOE has secured this year.
