On December 19, Hanwha Ocean announced the signing of a contract with a European shipowner for the construction of seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The total order value amounts to approximately 2.5891 trillion won (about $1.75 billion), equivalent to 24% of Hanwha Ocean’s total order value for 2024 (10.776 trillion won).
Each LNG carrier in this batch has a unit cost of approximately $250 million and is scheduled for delivery by the first half of 2029.
As a representative of high-value-added vessel types, Hanwha Ocean states that its latest order for seven new LNG carriers will be constructed using standardized specifications. This approach maximizes efficiency across the entire procurement, production, and design process, ensuring stable revenue streams.
This marks Hanwha Ocean’s third shipbuilding contract announced this month, following two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) on December 2 and one LNG carrier on December 9.
With this batch order of LNG carriers, Ocean’s order performance in 2025 will be significantly improved.
Hanwha Ocean has secured orders for 51 new vessels worth approximately $9.83 billion, including the latest contract. By vessel type, the orders comprise 20 VLCCs, 17 container ships, 13 LNG carriers, and 1 icebreaking research vessel.
Although Hanwha Ocean has not disclosed its annual order target for 2025, the company’s cumulative order volume this year is growing rapidly. As of December 19, 2025, the order value ($9.83 billion) has already surpassed the annual order level of $8.98 billion achieved in 2024.
Based on Hanwha Ocean’s new order data for this year, the Korean industry estimates that the company’s performance will continue to show an upward trend.
According to industry analysis in South Korea, Hanwha Ocean has secured orders for 20 VLCCs this year. While concerns have previously existed regarding the profitability of VLCC and other tanker orders, there is no need to worry about future profitability. This is because the average construction cost per VLCC has reached a record high of $129 million this year, and steel prices have maintained a stable downward trend.