More than half of the annual target has been achieved! HD Hyundai Oupu receives 6 new orders
On April 1st, HD Hyundai Shipbuilding Holdings, HD Korea Shipbuilding Marine, announced that it had signed construction contracts with European shipowners for four medium-sized LPG transport ships and two finished oil tankers, with a total contract amount of approximately 612.2 billion Korean won (approximately 453 million US dollars).
Among them, four medium-sized LPG ships will be built by HD Hyundai Weipu located in Ulsan and are planned to be delivered gradually before May 2027; Two finished oil tankers will be built by Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard (HVS), a Vietnamese subsidiary of HD Hyundai Oita, and are scheduled to be delivered before November 2027.
South Korean Shipbuilding Ocean did not disclose specific information about the relevant shipowners, but according to foreign media reports, four LPG ship orders came from Capital Maritime, a subsidiary of Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis, with a cargo capacity of 45000 cubic meters each and a single ship cost of 78 million US dollars.
It is worth mentioning that last month, Nantong CIMC Pacific Ocean Engineering undertook 2+2 orders for 40000 cubic meters of LPG/liquid ammonia ships, which are also reported to come from Capital Maritime. These 4 new ships are planned to be delivered in 2028, with a cost of approximately $66 million each.
The latest order is the third new ship order from Marinakis, a subsidiary of Marinakis, in South Korea's shipbuilding and ocean industry this year. Previously, Capital Group ordered two liquefied carbon dioxide transport ships from HD Hyundai Oita in January this year, with a total value of $145 million; In February, four 174000 cubic meter LNG ships were ordered at HD Modern Sanhu, with a total value of 1.08 billion US dollars. With the addition of the latest four ships worth 312 million US dollars, Marinakis has already signed an order of 1.537 billion US dollars (approximately 11.117 billion yuan) in South Korea Shipbuilding Marine this year.
This is also the fifth batch of new ship orders undertaken by HD Hyundai Weipu this year. So far this year, the company has taken on a total of 31 new ship orders, including 19 MR product oil tankers, 2 liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) transport ships, 8 medium-sized LPG ships, and 2 car transport ships (PCTC), with a total contract amount of $1.716 billion, reaching 55.35% of the company's target of $3.1 billion for this year's orders, and achieving more than half of the annual order target ahead of schedule.
According to Clarkson's data, HD Hyundai Oita currently holds orders for over 40 MR type oil tankers, ranking first among global shipyards; Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding, has ordered over 20 MR type finished oil tankers, ranking second in the world. In addition, HD Hyundai Oita has delivered over 630 MR type ships, also far ahead of other shipyards.
According to industry insiders in South Korea, by 2024, the proportion of old vessels in the MR product oil tanker fleet will reach 60%, and HD Hyundai Oita will seize the opportunity to seize market share of this type of vessel.
In addition, in the field of medium-sized LPG ships, HD Hyundai Weipu's construction performance also ranks first among global shipyards, leading the construction market of this type of ship. Especially in October last year, HD Hyundai Weipu changed the contract for two 46000 cubic meter medium-sized LPG ships previously signed with the Indian company Xmar from using LPG dual fuel engines to using ammonia powered dual fuel engines, becoming the world's first batch of medium-sized ammonia powered gas transport ships.
According to industry insiders in South Korea, there will be 77 medium-sized LPG ships with a ship age of over 15 years, ranging from 20000 to 45000 cubic meters, in 2024, accounting for 35% of the fleet and showing an increasing trend year by year. Therefore, with the continuous growth of the number of old and medium-sized LPG ships, the new ship order market for this type of ship is on the rise, and HD Modern Weipu will also take the opportunity to expand its order share in the construction market of this type of ship, further seizing market opportunities.
South Korean industry insiders say, "HD Hyundai Oita will further increase orders for MR finished oil tankers and medium-sized LPG transport ships. With the repeated construction of the same ship type, the profits of ship construction will also continue to increase. This will lay a good foundation for HD Hyundai Oita to turn losses into profits."
In 2023, HD Hyundai Oita incurred an operating loss of 166.2 billion Korean won (approximately 125 million US dollars), making it the only shipbuilding subsidiary of HD Korea Shipbuilding Marine to experience an operating loss last year.
Including the 6 new ship orders undertaken this year, HD Korea Shipbuilding Ocean has undertaken 78 ship and sea equipment orders so far this year, with a total contract amount of 9.19 billion US dollars (approximately RMB 66.45 billion), completing approximately 68% of its annual order target of 13.5 billion US dollars. This includes 6 large LNG ships, 20 VLGC/VLAC ships, 8 LPG ships, 28 product oil ships, 1 VLEC, 6 VLCC ships, 3 crude oil transport ships, 2 LCO2 transport ships, 2 automobile transport ships, 1 offshore platform upper module, and 1 FSRU.
