Two mid-sized South Korean shipbuilders announced new ship orders on the same day, totaling 12 vessels.
On September 22, DH Shipbuilding announced that it had signed contracts with two shipowners to build a total of six Suezmax tankers, with a total value of 710 billion won (about US$510 million). The average cost of each vessel is about 120 billion won (about US$86 million). The vessels are expected to be delivered in batches starting in July 2027.
This marks DH Shipbuilding’s first new ship order since its listing. The company characterizes them as high-quality orders, equivalent to seven months of the shipyard’s production capacity.
Four of the six new vessels are for Belgian shipowner EXMAR, with the order including four optioned vessels. The newbuilds will have a deadweight tonnage of 157,000 tons, capable of transporting approximately one million barrels of crude oil, and will be equipped with desulfurization systems. The remaining two vessels are for a long-standing client of DH Shipbuilding, representing a follow-on order featuring LNG-ready design.
All six new tankers are environmentally friendly vessels compliant with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tier III (Air Pollution Prevention Phase III) and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase III standards.
Data shows that DH Shipbuilding primarily constructs medium-sized vessels such as Capesize bulk carriers, Newcastlemax bulk carriers, Aframax tankers, and product tankers. The company officially listed on the KOSPI stock exchange in South Korea on August 1.
On the same day, K Shipbuilding announced the signing of a contract with a European shipowner for the construction of two 50,000 DWT product tankers. The total contract value is 129 billion won (approximately US$92.55 million), with each vessel costing about US$46.27 million. Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2027.
The new vessel complies with the enhanced environmental standards of the IMO. Its design highlights include meeting the EEDI Tier 3 standard and the ability to be easily retrofitted for environmentally friendly fuel propulsion systems such as LNG or methanol.
K Shipbuilding announced that with the latest order, it has accumulated orders for 10 new vessels worth 820 billion won (approximately US$586 million) this year, including two option vessels.
A K Shipbuilding official stated, “This achievement was made possible through the comprehensive support of our major shareholder, United Asset Management,” and emphasized, “This year, we will maximize profitability through proactive order acquisition activities and strive to solidify our strong position in the medium-sized vessel market.”