Mystery European shipowner orders LNG bunker vessel duo at HD Hyundai Mipo

HD Hyundai Mipo, a subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilding major HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), has received a new order worth KRW 270.6 billion (nearly $197 million) to construct two LNG bunker vessels.

According to HD Hyundai Mipo’s stock exchange filing, the shipbuilding contract entails two LNG bunker vessels featuring a capacity of 18,000 cubic meters (cbm) each.

The vessels were ordered by an undisclosed shipping company based in Europe, with delivery expected to be completed by the end of November 2027.

Earlier this year, HD Hyundai Mipo also secured a KRW 538.3 billion ($372 million) order to build four LNG bunker vessels with the same capacity for an African shipping company. These ships are to be delivered by the second half of 2028.

The order followed a $185.4 million contract signed in September 2024 for the construction of two LNG bunker vessels for an undisclosed, Europe-based shipping company, in addition to the $370 million order for four 18,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessels to be built for an undisclosed shipping company in Asia. At the time, market rumors indicated that Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) and Swiss major MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company had jointly ordered these four bunkering vessels.

According to Intermodal Shipbrokers, LNG-capable vessels are steadily gaining an expanding share of the global fleet, counting 1,329 vessels able to use LNG as fuel as of March 2025, with a total carrying capacity of 110 m gt, representing 6.56% of the global fleet. To compare, only 558 such vessels existed in 2021.

The LNG bunkering market also saw increased demand and reached 32 LNG bunkering vessels engaged in ship-to-ship fueling as of 2025.

The average age of the bunkering vessels is six years, with most units built in Chinese and South Korean yards, while ownership is concentrated in East Asia and Europe (Japan, S. Korea, Spain).

Additionally, the average size of newly ordered LNG bunkering vessels has increased to 17,179 cbm, compared to the current average of 8,225 cbm, signaling a shift towards larger units.