Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) extended Korea’s winning streak in tankers by adding 540 billion won ($489 million) in new orders.

The shipbuilding holding entity of South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group in a regulatory filing said on Monday that it landed a contract to build three very large crude carriers (VLCC) for an Asian client at 298.8 billion won. The VLCCs will be built by its subsidiary Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for delivery from the second half of 2022.

On Monday, KSOE shares closed 0.95 percent lower at 104,000 won in Seoul.

The latest deal comes on top of other shipbuilding orders it recently bagged through its units Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding. The subsidiaries will be building two 40,000-cubic meter liquefied petroleum gas carriers, three 50,000-ton petrochemical tankers, and one 1,800-TEU container. The shipyards have yet to disclose the value of each contract.

Last year, KOSE won 55 percent or 17 out of total 31 new VLCC shipbuilding orders placed worldwide.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea’s economic research institute projects the global shipbuilding orders to jump 56.9 percent on year to reach 30 million compensated gross tons this year, as shipbuilders accelerate their shift to green vessels ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s introduction of Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index. The new requirement of limiting engine power of both existing and newly built vessels will take effect in 2023.

By Pulse

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