DH Shipbuilding, a mid-sized South Korean shipbuilder, has secured another order for a Suezmax tanker, bringing its total orders for this vessel type to 10 this year.
On March 22, DH Shipbuilding announced that it had signed a contract on the 20th with an African shipping company to build one Suezmax tanker. The order is valued at 134 billion won (approximately $89 million), and the vessel is expected to be delivered to the owner by June 2029.
DH Shipbuilding stated that this type of Suezmax tanker will be built as an environmentally friendly vessel, equipped with desulfurization systems designed to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
The latest shipbuilding contract stems from an option for additional vessels included in a contract signed in January 2026 for the construction of Suezmax tankers. Although DH Shipbuilding did not disclose specific details about the shipowner, it stated that the January order marked the first collaboration between the two parties in the shipbuilding sector.
According to reports, the shipowner behind the order is Lavinia Tankers, the tanker division of Greece-based Laskaridis Shipping/Lavinia Corp.
On January 13, 2026, NAT ordered two 157,000 DWT Suezmax tankers from DH Shipbuilding, with delivery expected before November 2028. According to information disclosed by DH Shipbuilding at the time, this was the shipyard’s first collaboration with NAT.
With the latest order, DH Shipbuilding has signed contracts for 10 Suezmax tankers by 2026, which is all the new ship orders signed this year. The remaining 9 are 6 in January, 2 in February, and 1 on March 16.
As of March 20, DH Shipbuilding’s order backlog had increased to 34 vessels, equivalent to 3 years and 6 months of the shipyard’s production capacity. Based on its confirmed order volume, DH Shipbuilding plans to strengthen its strategy of selectively securing profitable orders.