On September 1, Hanwha Ocean announced a contract with an Oceanian shipowner to build three Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs). The total order value is 477.8 billion KRW (approximately $345 million) with a unit price of around $115 million—with delivery scheduled for December 2030.
With this latest contract, Hanwha Ocean has secured orders for 32 vessels this year, totaling approximately $5.94 billion (roughly 8.14 trillion KRW) in value.
The orderbook comprises 17 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), 6 LNG carriers, 3 Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs), 3 VLGCs, 1 wind turbine installation vessel, 1 special-purpose vessel, and 1 onshore plant.
Currently, Hanwha Ocean is focusing on securing orders for high-value-added vessel types, such as oil tankers and gas carriers, through a strategic order selection process to improve profitability. A Hanwha Ocean spokesperson stated, “The company has secured a shipbuilding workload for more than three years, enabling it to prioritize orders for high-value-added vessel types.”
Although Hanwha Ocean has not disclosed the identity of the shipowner, shipbrokers and industry sources indicate that this VLGC order is linked to Dorian LPG, an owner and operator of liquefied gas carriers. In June of this year, the company ordered a 90,000-cubic-meter class VLGC from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, with delivery scheduled for 2029.
Dorian LPG is no stranger to Hanwha Ocean; the two parties previously signed a contract in 2023 for a 93,000-cubic-meter VLGC/VLAC, which is the latest newbuild to join the owner’s fleet.
As of early August 2026, Dorian LPG operates a fleet of 25 modern VLGCs.