Trading Winds reports that British shipowner Union Maritime has placed an order with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for two 90,000-cubic-meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs). Each vessel is priced at approximately $118 million, bringing the total order value to about $236 million. Delivery is expected in 2029.
Driven by expanding global LPG demand and increased long-haul transport volumes, orders for LPG carriers have surged. The expansion of U.S. shale-gas-based LPG exports, combined with import demand in Asia, has further fueled growth in demand for these vessels.
As the strategic importance of natural gas transportation grows, Union Maritime is shifting its business focus from its traditional tanker operations to the liquefied gas carrier market in order to expand its fleet structure. As a shipowner primarily engaged in the transportation of crude oil, chemical products, and petroleum products, Union Maritime will enter the large liquefied gas carrier sector for the first time through a newbuild project with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Excluding the two newbuilds mentioned above, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has secured orders for 20 VLGCs this year. The largest single order came from BW LPG, which placed an order for eight VLGCs with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in a single transaction. The remaining orders came from Dubai-based BGN, Greece’s TMS Cardiff Gas, South Korea’s KSS Shipping, Dubai-based energy trader BGN, and Turkey’s Aygaz, for two, two, three, four, and one vessel, respectively.
This year, liquefied gas carrier owners have shown great enthusiasm for ordering new ships.
CYH Shipping, a privately owned Chinese shipping company headquartered in Hong Kong, has also reportedly placed an order, having allegedly signed a contract with Jiangnan Shipyard—a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation—for the construction of multiple 90,000-cubic-meter-class VLGCs. Neither the shipowner nor the shipyard has publicly announced this order at this time.
If CYH Shipping’s order is ultimately confirmed, it will mean that the VLGC newbuilding market—which has seen a sustained surge in ship orders this year—will welcome a new Chinese private shipowner.