HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) Co. announced that it has secured a 458.8 billion-won (US$312 million) order from an Asian shipping company to build two ethane carriers, according to Yonhap on 4 March.
The two ethane carriers will be built at the Ulsan shipyard of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. under a plan to deliver the ships by December 2028.
HD KSOE did not disclose the name of the shipowner and the specific specifications of the ship, but according to industry sources, the shipowner is Malaysian shipping giant MISC and the ship specifications are approximately 100,000 cubic meters.
HD KSOE is a subholding company under HD Hyundai, formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings. HD KSOE has three affiliates — HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. and HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co.
With the latest contract, HD KSOE has secured orders for a total of 21 vessels worth $3.58 billion so far this year, achieving 19.8 percent of its annual order target of $18.05 billion.
In addition to this order, HD KSOE has recently 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.
In 2024, HD KSOE received orders for a total of 181 vessels valued at $20.56 billion, achieving 152.2% of its annual order target of $13.5 billion.