On February 10, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), the intermediate holding company for HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding business, announced that it had signed a contract with an African shipping company for the construction of four 18,000 cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessels, for a total contract value of KRW 538.3 billion (about US$370 million), with a unit price of about US$92.5 million.
The LNG bunkering vessel is 143 meters long and 25.2 meters wide. It will be built at HD Hyundai Mipo and will be delivered to the owner one after another from the second half of 2028.
LNG bunkering vessels are ships that bunker LNG-powered vessels at sea in a ship-to-ship (STS) manner. STS does not require the installation of additional LNG supply and storage facilities at existing ports and can be bunkered in large quantities, making it the most popular LNG bunkering method. As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strengthens environmental regulations, the demand for LNG bunkering vessels is gradually expanding.
According to the Korea LNG Bunkering Industry Association (KOLBIA), the number of vessels using LNG as a propulsion fuel (excluding LNG carriers) is expected to increase from 472 in 2023 to 1,174 in 2033, an increase of 149%. Global LNG bunkering is expected to reach 15 million tons by 2028, about 4.7 times the 2023 level.
HD KSOE stated that it has been continuously expanding its dominant position in the LNG bunkering vessel market. Previously, HD Hyundai Mipo received orders for two 18,000 cbm and one 12,500 cbm LNG bunkering vessels in September and October 2024.In November, the shipyard received another order for four 18,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessels.