Hanwha Ocean said on the 25th that it won orders totaling five ships—two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from a shipowner in Africa and three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from a shipowner in Oceania—for about 1.345 trillion won.
The LNG carriers will be built and delivered by May 15, 2029, and the three VLCCs by the end of June 2029.
Amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. airstrikes on Iran, VLCC freight rates are rebounding. Hanwha Ocean said such geopolitical uncertainty is prompting shipowners to bring forward investment decisions. For LNG carriers, multiple LNG terminal development projects centered in the United States are scheduled after 2028, and demand is expected to increase over the mid to long term.
Hanwha Ocean plans to continue a selective order strategy focused on high value-added large vessels to respond flexibly to market volatility in line with these market conditions.
Including this order, Hanwha Ocean has so far this year recorded orders for a total of 11 ships—six VLCCs, four LNG carriers, and one wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV)—worth $2.32 billion (about 3.4672 trillion won).