South Korea's Hyundai Glovis is being named as the mystery owner behind an order for VLCC tonnage at Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Korean industry sources told TradeWinds the domestic shipowner will build two vessels.
On Wednesday, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co (KSOE) — the parent for Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings’ group of shipyards — announced that Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries had booked a VLCC newbuilding with an unnamed Asian shipowner.
KSOE said this vessel is due for delivery in March 2022.
Hyudai Glovis ordered a lone VLCC at Hyundai Samho almost one year earlier.
The tanker, along with two others for SK Shipping, was ordered against 10-year time-charter business with Hyundai Oilbank.
The vessel, which is scrubber-fitted, was priced at about $94m and is due for delivery next year.
Today, VLCC newbuildings are about $10m cheaper with brokers quoting levels at between $84m and $85m for a conventionally-fuelled vessel.
There has been a late flurry of interest in VLCC newbuildings in the past two months, boosting the number of ships contracted this year to at least 34 vessels.
Of these, Hyundai Heavy Industries is known to have booked 25 newbuildings.
Early last year, TradeWinds reported that Hyundai Glovis, which is partly owned by Hyundai Motor Group, was set to splash out about KRW 300bn ($252m) on newbuildings in 2020.
In September, the company teamed up with Norway's Wilhelmsen Group signing a cooperation deal to explore short and long-term opportunities in gas shipping and green fuels.
Group holding company Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding has a 12% stake in Hyundai Glovis.
