Hanwha Ocean has taken the unusual move of offering two of its early delivering berths for VLCCs out to the market in a tender.
Brokers said the South Korean shipbuilder, which took over Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in May 2023, is seeking offers on two slots for 2026 delivery dates.
They indicated that the yard has been left with these after earlier Scandinavian and Greek business failed.
Hanwha Ocean is said to be asking for offers of around $130m per berth. Bids were due by the close of business on 10 April.
Hanwha Ocean has been contacted about the tender. Wednesday was a public holiday in South Korea due to national elections.
Brokers said it is a highly unusual move for a shipbuilder to offer newbuilding berths in a tender.
They commented that while the pricing on the vessels may seem in the region of last-done newbuilding deals, at a few million dollars more it may prove too strong for many players unless they have solid business for the ships on delivery.
One suggested that the shipbuilder may struggle to achieve a batch of competing bids at that level unless it is prepared to negotiate.
VLCCs are catching the eye of investors amid talk of resale deals in the pipeline and newbuilding enquiries. But market players said there is some nervousness over the strong prices.
The emergence of four Korea Line Corp vessels has also set tongues wagging in the sale-and-purchase markets.
They are the scrubber-fitted 300,800-dwt SM White Whale 1 and SM White Whale 2, 299,700-dwt SM Venus 1 (all built 2019) and SM Venus 2 (built 2020).
Korea Line is understood to be seeking offers of around $120m each on the four and five-year-old vessels, which one broker pointed out is the price of a VLCC newbuilding in China.
“It’s a hell of a premium,” he commented, adding that any buyer would need solid charters for the vessels at that price.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network logs the current VLCC orderbook at 46 vessels, which equates to just 5.1% of the global fleet.
This represents a dramatic shift up from the end of 2023, as more than half the ships on order have been contracted in the first three months of this year by parties that include Capital Ship Management, Trafigura, DHT Holdings, Seatankers Management, Euronav and Ray Car Carriers.
Clarksons puts the price of a VLCC newbuilding at $130m, up from $128m at the end of last year and $122m in April 2023, with pricing holding firm.
