HD Korea Shipbuilding scores W2.8tr order for 12 gas carriers

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, an intermediate holding company of South Korean heavy industries conglomerate HD Hyundai, has bagged 12 orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers worth 2.79 trillion won ($2.08 billion) in a span of less than a week.

According to the shipbuilder, HD KSOE on Tuesday signed a contract with an Oceanian customer to build two 200,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers. The shipbuilder inked a contract with a European customer to build four 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers and finalized a deal with an Asian customer to build two 88,000-cubic-meter LPG carriers. Tuesday’s deals were worth a total of 2.42 trillion won.

The shipbuilder previously won a contract worth 36.74 billion won to build 45,000-cubic-meter LPG carriers from an Asian customer on April 26.

According to the company, the LNG carriers will be built at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard in South Gyeongsang Province and are expected to be delivered to the customers in 2027. The LPG carriers will be built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province and at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, to be delivered in 2026.

The shipbuilder said the 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers will be equipped with the company’s technology of re-liquefying gas made in LNG carriers to increase the ship’s energy efficiency by over 20 percent. They will also feature the shipbuilder’s technology of lubricating the ship with air to reduce friction and cut down on the use of fuel and carbon emissions.

“As a result of trying to offer trust and satisfaction to customers with advanced technology and quality, we were able to score large contracts for gas carriers that have high profitability,” said an official at HD KSOE. “As a leading company in the global shipbuilding industry, we will work to continuously win orders of high-value-added ships based on differentiated technology.”