Hanwha Ocean announced on July 1 that it has signed a contract with a Middle Eastern shipping company for the construction of four new very large crude carriers (VLCCs). The order totaled $520 million, with a single-vessel price of $130 million.
Including the latest order, Hanwha Ocean has secured a total of $5.33 billion orders so far this year, including 16 LNG carriers, 7 VLCCs, 2 VLACs, 1 VLGC and 1 offshore facility. This far exceeds last year’s full year order book ($3.52 billion).
Hanwha Ocean said, “As the VLCC market recovers, we are expected to benefit from the competitiveness of this sector. The orders for VLCCs is only 3 units in 2022 and 18 in 2023, but this year the total order book has increased significantly to 37 units as of the end of May.”
Of the 919 VLCCs currently operating worldwide, Hanwha Ocean is said to have built 185 units, the highest of any shipbuilder in the world.