On November 6, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE)—the intermediate holding company for the HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding business—announced that it has signed a contract with an African shipowner to build four Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs). The order is worth 630.1 billion won (approximately $430 million), with each vessel costing about $107.5 million. The vessels will be constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and are scheduled for delivery by the first half of 2030.
Including the latest orders, HD KSOE has secured a total of 193 new building orders this year, valued at $21.2 billion, reaching 91 percent of its annual order target of $23.31 billion.
By vessel type, HD KSOE’s order book includes 17 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, 38 container ships, 62 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/ammonia/ liquefied carbon dioxide carriers, 11 crude oil tankers, 59 product tankers, 2 car carriers, 2 roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) ships, 1 icebreaker, and 1 floating storage and regasification unit (LNG-FSRU).