On July 13, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), the intermediate holding company for HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding business, announced that it had signed a contract with a European shipowner to build three Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs). The order is valued at 545.6 billion KRW (approximately $362.3 million), translating to a unit price of around $121 million. The vessels will be constructed by HD Hyundai Samho and are scheduled for staggered delivery starting in the first half of 2030.
As ammonia emits no carbon dioxide during combustion, it is attracting significant attention as a next-generation zero-carbon fuel. Consequently, market demand for VLACs—vessels designed to transport liquid ammonia—is rising rapidly. Previously, in May, HD Hyundai Samho announced an order for six 90,000-cubic-meter VLACs, reportedly placed by Türkiye’s Ciner Group.
Including the latest contracts, HD KSOE has secured orders for 142 new vessels valued at $16.39 billion so far this year, achieving approximately 70.3% of its annual order target of $23.31 billion. If the order momentum continues through the second half of the year, the company is expected to exceed its annual target for the sixth consecutive year since 2021.
At the beginning of the year, HD KSOE raised its annual order target by approximately 9.1% year-on-year (up from $18.05 billion). Broken down by subsidiary, the individual order targets are $17.745 billion for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, $4.9 billion for HD Hyundai Samho, and $660 million for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Philippines.
By vessel type, the orders secured by HD KSOE comprise: 17 LNG carriers, 28 container ships, 43 LPG/ammonia/LCO2 carriers, 11 crude oil tankers, 39 product tankers, 2 car carriers, 1 icebreaker, and 1 LNG-FSRU.