This year, domestic shipbuilders have been consistently winning orders for tankers. While tankers have been dominated by China, which has high price competitiveness due to standardized technology, it appears that overseas shipowners are entrusting some orders to Korean companies since the United States has sanctioned Chinese shipyards.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 21st, Angola's state-owned oil company Sonangol has reportedly signed a letter of intent to order two Suezmax-class (the largest size ship that can pass through the Suez Canal) tankers from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The contract is expected to be confirmed next month, with each ship priced at approximately $95 million (about 136.6 billion won).
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries recently signed a letter of intent to build two Suezmax-class tankers with Greek shipping company Pantheon Tankers Management. Pantheon Tankers is reportedly resuming orders with Korean shipyards after five years.
Oman's Asyad Shipping plans to order 30 vessels next month with funds raised from its initial public offering (IPO). Asyad Shipping primarily transports liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil.
With the increase in Oman's petrochemical product exports, a significant portion of the new orders is expected to be for PC (product carrier) tankers. The shipbuilding industry estimates that HD Hyundai Mipo is likely to secure a large number of these orders, as it built 10 out of the 12 PC vessels currently held by Asyad Shipping.
Last year, among the 444 tanker orders worldwide, China's order ratio was 60% to 70%, while the domestic companies' ratio was about 10%. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering secured 6 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and 7 general tankers, while Hanwha Ocean secured 8 tankers.
The industry believes that as the U.S. penalizes Chinese shipyards, ordering parties are looking for Korean companies for risk management reasons. Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense included the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and its shipyards in the list of Chinese military corporations. These companies will not be able to conduct transactions with the Department of Defense in the future and may face additional sanctions. There were also rumors that the U.S. would impose tariffs on Chinese ships.
If a bill allowing the U.S. Navy to assign the construction of naval ships to allies passes, there is a strong possibility that supporting vessels, such as medium tankers, which support large-scale naval fleets, will also be awarded to Korean companies. Recently, representatives of the three HD Hyundai shipbuilders, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, noted in a briefing with securities analysts that there have been inquiries from the U.S. side regarding the severe aging of support vessels.