Dubai-based shipowner Emarat Maritime has placed an additional order with Hengli Heavy Industry for two 93,000-cubic-meter very large ammonia carriers (VLACs).
It is reported that Emarat Maritime is entering the liquefied gas carrier market through its orders at Hengli Heavy Industry. In March this year, Emarat Maritime acquired two resale VLACs from Hengli Heavy Industry, which were originally ordered by Hengli Group and scheduled for delivery in 2027. Recently, the company placed an additional order for two more vessels of the same type, to be delivered in 2028.
Emarat Maritime has listed the four VLACs on its official website, with hull numbers G93K-3, G93K-4, G93K-5, and G93K-6. Earlier reports indicated that these newbuilds will be equipped with LPG dual-fuel engines, with a unit price of approximately $105–110 million. Based on this, the total value of all four vessels is around $440 million (approximately RMB 3.005 billion).
For reference, Clarksons data shows that the current newbuilding price for an 88,000–93,000 cbm VLAC is approximately $113 million, down 6% from $120.5 million in the same period last year.
The Hengli Heavy Industry order marks Emarat Maritime’s first foray into liquefied gas carriers. To date, the company’s business scope has been limited to the tanker and dry bulk sectors. Emarat Maritime, established in 1990, is the shipping arm of Dubai’s Sharaf Group. Its fleet currently owns and operates 19 vessels, including 9 tankers and 10 bulk carriers.
Emarat Maritime was already a customer of Hengli Heavy Industry. In November last year, Emarat Maritime ordered six Aframax tankers from Hengli Heavy Industry, marking its first newbuilding order in nearly 20 years.
It is understood that in September 2024, Hengli Heavy Industry received an order from Hengli Group for four 93,000 cbm VLACs, the world’s largest, making it the second private shipyard in China to enter the very large gas carrier market, following Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. All four vessels are scheduled for delivery next year. Apart from the two sold to Emarat Maritime, the other two were also sold to anonymous shipowners earlier this year.
Hengli Heavy Industry’s preferred operational model when developing new vessel types appears to be ordering ships first and then reselling them to clients. In the past, Hengli Group placed orders at Hengli Heavy Industry for over a dozen VLCCs. These newbuilds, with delivery scheduled between 2026 and 2027 and lower prices, were highly favored by overseas shipowners and were all resold to them between 2024 and 2025.
In the first quarter of this year, Hengli Heavy Industry signed a total of 108 newbuilding orders, a record high for the period. These included 76 tanker orders (comprising 54 VLCCs, 18 Suezmax tankers, and 4 LR2 product tankers), 12 container ships, 16 bulk carriers, and 4 low-temperature vessels.
In April, Hengli Heavy Industry successively signed 18 newbuilding orders, including 2 LPG dual-fuel 93,000 cbm very large ammonia carriers (VLACs), 2 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers, 8 181,000 dwt Capesize bulk carriers, and 2 LNG dual-fuel 306,000 dwt VLCCs.
This week, on May 5, Hengli Heavy Industry signed a construction contract with European shipowner BEACON TANKERS for 2+2 158,000 dwt Suezmax tankers. As a result, Hengli Heavy Industry’s orders this year have approached 130 vessels, surpassing last year’s total of 115 vessels and setting another historical record.
According to Clarksons data, Hengli Heavy Industry currently holds a total orderbook of 295 vessels, totaling 53.31 million dwt and 10.8 million CGT, ranking first globally among single shipyards by CGT. This includes 126 tankers, 105 bulk carriers, 58 container ships, and 6 LPG carriers, with delivery schedules extending to 2030.
