HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), a shipbuilding intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai, announced on April 9 that it has signed a contract for the construction of four Very Large Liquid Ammonia Carriers (VLACs) with a European shipping company, with a total order value of KRW631.9 billion ( about $466.4 million), and a single unit cost of about $116.6 million. The new VLACs will be built by HD Hyundai Samho and are expected to be delivered to the owner by July 2028.
Including the latest order, HD KSOE has taken orders for 86 new vessels valued at about $9.86 billion, achieving 73% of its annual order target of $13.5 billion.
By vessel type, it includes 6 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, 32 product tankers, 32 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/ammonia carriers, 1 very large ethane carrier (VLEC), 2 LCO2 carriers, 6 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), 3 medium-sized crude carriers, 2 pure car and track carriers (PCTCs), 1 FSRU and 1 offshore unit.
Currently, green ammonia is considered to be one of the most promising alternative fuels for achieving zero-carbon shipping. As the demand for ammonia fuel is expected to expand, the demand for long-distance carriers for stable supply of liquid ammonia will also increase. According to statistics, 24 VLACs have been ordered globally so far in 2024, all of which have been contracted by Korean shipbuilders.
Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) were awarded two units each; the other 20 units were all contracted by HD KSOE, whose shipbuilding subsidiaries HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho are building 12 and 8 units respectively.