On May 21, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE)—the intermediate holding company for shipbuilding under HD Hyundai—announced that it has signed a contract with a European shipowner for the construction of six Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs). The total value of the order amounts to 1.0782 trillion KRW (approximately $715 million), with the cost per vessel estimated at approximately $179 million.
This new fleet will be built by HD Hyundai Samho and is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2029.
Including the latest orders, HD KSOE has secured orders for 104 new vessels worth $12.54 billion this year, achieving 53.8% of its annual order target of $23.31 billion.
Although HD KSOE did not disclose the identity of the shipowner, shipbrokers and market sources indicate that this order is linked to the Turkish shipowner, Ciner Group. Previous reports suggested that the two parties had been engaged in in-depth negotiations regarding a series of new large gas carrier construction projects.
Industry observers speculate that this batch of ammonia carriers was likely ordered through Ciner Group’s shipping division—a unit led by Vasileios Papakalodoukas, which is scheduled to relocate its shipping operations to Greece in early 2025.
To date, the Ciner Group has secured a substantial number of forward-looking orders across multiple shipping sectors, including dry bulk carriers and container ships, and has now expanded into the liquefied cargo sector.