Hanwha Ocean won an order for three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), signing its first contract of the year.
On the 15th, Hanwha Ocean disclosed that it signed a 572.2 billion won contract the previous day for three VLCCs with a shipowner in the Middle East. This equals 5.3% of Hanwha Ocean's sales on a consolidation basis at the end of 2024 (10.776 trillion won). The contract runs from Jan. 14, 2026, to Apr. 30, 2029.
The order is said to have been placed by Oman shipping corporations Asyad, with the price known to be about $129 million (about 190 billion won) per vessel.
Daehan Shipbuilding has also won orders for four Suezmax-class (150,000-ton) crude carriers so far this year. On the 13th, it signed a construction contract with a Bermuda-based shipping company for two Suezmax-class crude carriers, followed by another contract on the 14th with a Liberia-based shipping company for two vessels of the same type.
A Suezmax-class vessel is the largest ship that can pass through the Suez Canal fully laden with crude oil and other cargo.
In January this year, five Suezmax-class crude carriers were ordered worldwide, of which Daehan Shipbuilding won four. A Daehan Shipbuilding official said, "All of these contracts were signed with new shipping companies, which is meaningful in that we have successively secured new customers in the major global tanker market."
With this order, Daehan Shipbuilding recorded an order intake of about 500 billion won, achieving about 30% of its annual order target in just a fortnight.
In the shipbuilding industry, there is an assessment that the order flow for this year has also received a green light as Korean shipbuilders have succeeded in winning tanker orders one after another from the start of the year. As order competitiveness strengthens around high value-added ship types, expectations are growing for improved profitability at Korean shipbuilders. An industry official said, "This year as well, strategies will continue to selectively win orders while boosting both orders and profitability."