Korean shipbuilders land $1.1 billion in deals

South Korea’s three leading shipbuilders announced a series of major orders on May 4, with combined deals nearing 1.5 trillion won, or about $1.1 billion.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said it signed a contract with domestic carrier KSS Line to build three very large gas carriers, with delivery scheduled by 2029. The deal is valued at 504.8 billion won. The company has secured orders for 86 vessels worth $9.35 billion so far this year, achieving about 40% of its annual target.

Hanwha Ocean said it won an order the same day for three very large ammonia carriers from an African shipowner, valued at 507.4 billion won.

Samsung Heavy Industries also reported a new contract, securing a 484.8 billion won order from an Asian client for one LNG floating storage and regasification unit, or LNG-FSRU. The vessel converts liquefied natural gas into gas for distribution and is typically deployed in regions with rising LNG demand or where onshore terminal construction is difficult.

Combined, the three companies reported new orders totaling 1.497 trillion won in a single day.


Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com