HD KSOE bags mega order for fifteen petrochemical carriers

South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has received a mega order for fifteen petrochemical product carriers.

The contract is valued at KRW 942.5 billion (more than $716 million), the shipbuilder revealed in a stock exchange filing on January 9, 2024.

As informed, the 50,000 dwt vessels will be built for an undisclosed Asian shipowner.

The shipbuilder said that the units will be constructed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) — one of three affiliates of HD KSOE.

The petrochemical ships are expected to be delivered by November 30, 2026 — the end date of the contract.

The latest order brings HD KSOE’s orderbook to $1.19 billion, representing 8.8% of the company’s annual order target of $13.5 billion, Yonhap News Agency reported.

In related news, HD KSOE won earlier this week orders for the construction of two very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) and two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The deals are worth KRW 317 billion and KRW 303 billion, respectively.

Although HD KSOE exceeded its last year’s order target, compatriot shipbuilders faced challenges related to new orders deficit. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Hanwha Ocean, two major players after HD KSOE on the domestic shipbuilding scene, reportedly did not meet their targets of $9.5 billion and $6.98 billion, respectively.

China, on the other hand, once again asserted its dominance on the global shipbuilding scene as its shipbuilding output surged by 12.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 38.09 million deadweight tons in the first 11 months of 2023, capturing over 50% of the world market.