South Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) adds to its portfolio another order to build two very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) for an undisclosed shipping company based in Africa.
The contract is valued at KRW 322.8 billion (around $242.89 million), HD KSOE said in a stock exchange filing on February 20, 2024.
The shipbuilder sealed the agreement on February 19, 2024 and the vessels are now scheduled to be delivered on February 26, 2027.
The company which is one of the largest manufacturers in South Korea after Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and others, has been winning orders since the beginning of the year, encompassing VLACs, LPG carriers, LNG carriers, and others.
An official of HD KSOE said, “Since the beginning of the year, inquiries for ship orders from various ship types have been continuing,” and added, “We will strengthen profitability through selective orders focusing on high-value-added vessels while maintaining a stable order backlog.”
Last year, the shipyard signed a contract with Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinaki´s Capital Maritime Group for two liquefied carbon dioxide carriers, worth KRW 179 billion, to be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard will construct the 22,000-cubic-meter vessels in its shipyard.
The vessels, which are capable of carrying liquefied petroleum gas and ammonia in addition to liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2), will be the largest of their kind in the world, said HD Korea Shipbuilding in July 2023.
The shipbuilder formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries, it split it into two, KSOE and newly created HHI, in May 2019. KSOE has become a holding company, putting HHI under its wing, as Nikkei Asia reports.
