On June 29, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE)—the intermediate shipbuilding holding company of HD Hyundai—announced that it had signed a contract with an Asian shipowner to build two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The order is valued at 366 billion KRW (approximately $235 million), placing the cost per vessel at around $117.5 million. The new vessels will be constructed by HD Hyundai Samho and are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2029.
Although HD KSOE has not disclosed specific details regarding the shipowner, market sources indicate that the order for the gas carrier was placed by the South Korean shipping company HMM; the vessel features a capacity of 90,000 cubic meters and is equipped with an LPG dual-fuel propulsion system.
HMM announced on June 24 that it would invest over $1 billion to order eight bulk carriers and two gas carriers. The eight bulk carriers are of the Newcastlemax type; details regarding the shipyard remain undisclosed.
With this latest order, HD KSOE has secured orders for 131 vessels totaling $15.14 billion so far this year, achieving 65% of its annual order target of $23.31 billion.
By vessel type, the orders comprise 16 LNG carriers, 28 container ships, 40 /LCO2 carriers, 11 crude oil tankers, 33 product tankers, two car carriers, and one icebreaker.
