Hanwha Ocean wins $1.57 billion deal for LNG carriers, VLCCs

Hanwha Ocean Co., a shipbuilding unit of South Korea’s chemicals-to-defense conglomerate Hanwha Group, said on Monday it has won a combined 2.16 trillion won ($1.57 billion) in contracts to build four liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from the Middle East.

The company said it clinched a 1.44 trillion won deal on Sunday to build four LNG ships for a shipowner in the Middle East. Hanwha didn’t identify the shipowner.

Hanwha plans to deliver the four LNG carriers by Oct. 27, 2028.

Separately, the company last week signed a 720 billion won deal to build four VLCCs for another unidentified shipowner in the region, it said. The shipbuilder plans to deliver the crude oil carriers by April 30, 2027.

The latest deals will bring Hanwha’s total order backlog this year to 16 LNG carriers, two ammonia-fuel-cell-powered very large ammonia carriers (VLACs), one very large gas carrier (VLGC) and one offshore rig worth a combined $5.33 billion in total, exceeding last year’s annual orders worth $3.52 billion.

TO BENEFIT FROM VLCC MARKET RECOVERY

Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME), said it expects to benefit from the recent recovery in the VLCC market, where it retains shipbuilding tech leadership.

Globally, shipowners have placed shipbuilding orders for 37 VLCCs in the first five months of this year. This compares with 18 such ships for all of 2023 and three VLCCs in 2022.

Hanwha Ocean is the world’s top VLCC shipbuilder, constructing 185 vessels out of 919 VLCC ships operating around the globe.

The company is also benefiting from a rise in LNG ship prices.

"We’ve contracted to build 22 LNG carriers this year. Next year, we expect to build a record 24 LNG ships, which will contribute to our profitability,” said a Hanwha Ocean official.

Hanwha Ocean is also one of the world’s major container shipbuilders and the only Korean company that has built submarines for the country's Navy since 1987.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.