On January 29, *ST Songfa, the listed entity of Hengli Heavy Industries, issued an announcement regarding a major daily business contract signed by its subsidiary, Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) Co., Ltd., which announced that the contract for the construction of two 306,000 DWT Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) had recently been signed and taken effect.
The announcement revealed that the order came from a well-known European shipowner, with a total contract value of approximately US$200-300 million. Based on this, the cost per vessel is approximately US$100-150 million, and delivery is expected in the second half of 2028.
It is understood that the 306,000 DWT VLCC is a mainstream large crude oil tanker type internationally, characterized by its large loading capacity, long range and high operational efficiency. Hengli Heavy Industries’ design of this type of vessel takes into account both route adaptability and loading flexibility, and can efficiently adapt to the loading and unloading equipment of major crude oil ports around the world, meeting the needs of long-distance transoceanic crude oil trunk line transportation and large-scale transportation from large oil fields to refineries.
Including the latest orders, Hengli Heavy Industries has secured contracts for 15+2 new vessels this year, comprising 10 VLCCs, 1 LR2 crude/product tanker, and 4+2 container ships, with a total value exceeding RMB 10 billion.
Since the beginning of 2026, global shipowners have placed orders for 15+1 VLCCs. Chinese shipyards have received orders for 11+1 vessels, which will be built by Hengli Heavy Industries (10 vessels) and Beihai Shipbuilding (1+1 vessels). South Korean shipyards have received orders for 3 vessels, which will be built by Hanwha Ocean. Japanese shipyards have received orders for 1 vessel, which will be built by Japan Marine United (JMU).