On Nov. 1, Samsung Heavy Industries, one of the largest shipbuilders in South Korea, announced that it has signed a construction contract with an African shipowner for four Suezmax tankers with a total value of 459.3 billion won (about $333 million) and a single-vessel cost of about $83.2 million. The new vessels are expected to be delivered by December 2027.
It is understood that the shipowner behind the order is Dynacom, a subsidiary of Greek ship king George Procopiou.
Including this contract, Samsung Heavy Industries has so far received orders for a total of 29 vessels (about $6 billion), achieving 62% of this year’s $9.7 billion target. It includes 22 LNG carriers, 2 VLACs, 1 shuttle tanker and 4 Suezmax tankers.
Just the day before (October 31), Samsung Heavy Industries just announced that it has received an order for an LNG carrier worth $259 million, which is expected to be delivered in June 2027.
Samsung Heavy Industries said that compared with other types of vessels, tankers have fewer orders under construction and a high proportion of older vessels. With the strengthening of environmental regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the implementation of the European Union’s carbon emission regulations, the demand for renewal of the tanker fleet is expected to increase.
Shipbuilding and shipping analysts, such as Clarkson, predict that the order book for very large tankers (VLCCs) will reach 65 in 2024 and increase to 50 in 2025, while the order book for Suezmax tankers is expected to be 60 in 2024 and 50 in 2025.
A Samsung Heavy Industries official noted, “As global energy demand continues to grow, we plan to respond flexibly by keeping a close eye on the dynamics of the container ship and tanker markets, while maintaining a selective ordering strategy centered on high-value-added vessels such as LNG carriers and FLNGs.”