Samsung Heavy Industries announced on the 18th that it has received orders for two very large ethane carriers (VLEC).
The contract amount is 466.1 billion won (based on an exchange rate of 1,454.8 won to the dollar). Samsung Heavy Industries plans to deliver the vessels sequentially by the end of February 2028.
Ethane carriers are high-value ships that transport ethane extracted from natural gas, such as shale gas, in a liquefied state at minus 89 degrees. Samsung Heavy Industries received an order for six 88,000 cubic meter-class very large ethane carriers from Reliance in July 2014, becoming the first in the world to do so. Recently, there has been an increasing trend in orders for gas carriers that are environmentally friendly energy.
This year, Samsung Heavy Industries has secured a total of 12 vessels, including one liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, nine shuttle tankers (crude oil carriers), and two very large ethane carriers. It has achieved 19% (or $1.9 billion) of its order target for the year, which is set at $9.8 billion.
Samsung Heavy Industries noted, "We are expanding our order portfolio focusing on high-value ships such as LNG carriers, shuttle tankers, and VLECs, while securing sufficient workloads for more than three years."