As Israel's bombing of Iran's gas facilities signals a protracted war, attention is turning to the fate of ships that Korean shipbuilders built and were set to send to the Middle East. That is because delivery of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers won in bulk 3–4 years ago is coming due in sequence.
According to foreign media on the 19th, immediately after the South Pars field, Iran's giant gas field, was attacked, President Pezeshkian of Iran wrote on X that "this attack will make the situation even more complicated" and "could lead to uncontrollable consequences that will sweep across the world."
The war is increasingly heading toward a situation where it will be hard to end easily. From the shipbuilding industry's perspective, if the war drags on, the delivery of newly built ships could be disrupted. Just as ships worldwide cannot exit the Persian Gulf, entering it has also become difficult, which could hinder normal delivery of newbuilds.
Unlike typical "speculative orders" that proceed without transport contracts, LNG carriers are often ordered based on long-term charter contracts with designated deployment. According to Clarksons Research, the number of ships by Korean shipbuilders slated for delivery to the Middle East, which was six in 2024 and 11 in 2025, is expected to rise to 16 this year and 26 next year. It is time for the newbuilds from the Qatar LNG project, which Korean shipbuilders won in bulk around 2020 to 2023, to be completed.
If these ships cannot be delivered as planned, they are likely to hit the spot charter market and be leased. In fact, QatarEnergy, which recently declared "force majeure," saying normal fulfillment of LNG supply contracts was impossible, put 10 LNG carriers up for lease. The leased ships are deployed to other LNG production sites.
If the shipowner cannot take the ship on charter, there could be cases where the shipbuilder keeps the ship without delivery. Contractually, the shipping company must take the ship, but if it cannot, it can postpone acceptance while paying storage fees.
Major shipbuilders such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries said they have not detected signs of delivery delays due to the recent Middle East war.
A shipbuilding company official said, "This is a situation that could occur if the crisis is prolonged, and if the shipowner cannot take delivery, the contract provides for the ship to be kept for a storage fee," adding, "During the 2008 financial crisis as well, some shipowners, whose funding dried up, were unable to take their ships."
The official added, "Looking at past cases, even if a contract is terminated, from the shipbuilder's standpoint it can sometimes be better to sell the ship anew to another shipping company."