On June 23, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), the intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding business, announced that the company has signed a contract with a shipowner to build two crude oil tankers. The total order value is 245.3 billion won (about US$178 million), and the cost of each vessel is US$89 million.
The new vessel will be built by HD Hyundai Samho and is expected to be delivered to the shipowner in the first half of 2027.
According to industry sources, the order comes from Greek shipowner Evalend Shipping and is an option for two 157,000-dwt Suezmax tankers signed by the two parties in May this year. The first two vessels are scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
So far this year, Evalend Shipping has ordered eight new vessels from HD Hyundai’s shipyards, including four Suezmax tankers and four LNG bunkering vessels, the latter of which will be built by HD Hyundai Mipo shipyard.
Including the latest orders, HD KSOE has received orders for 72 new ships worth approximately US$9.47 billion this year, achieving approximately 52.5% of its annual order target of US$18.05 billion.
By ship type, it includes 1 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, 6 LNG bunkering vessels, 8 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/ammonia carriers, 2 ethane carriers, 44 container ships, and 11 oil tankers.
Xclusiv Shipbrokers data showed that as of the end of May, Greek shipowners had a total of 295 tankers under construction, accounting for 24% of the global tanker orderbook. Suezmax and Aframax/LR2 tankers continue to compete for the top spot in Greek shipowners’ preferences, accounting for 29% and 26% of the current orderbook respectively.
Globally, shipowners signed a total of 87 new tanker construction contracts in the first five months of this year. Based on deadweight tonnage, the global order-to-fleet ratio was 15%.