HD KSOE Takes Orders for 12 Gas Carriers in 3 Days, worth 2.8 Trillion Won
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) landed orders for 12 gas carriers worth 2.79 trillion won (US$2.11 billion) over the past three days.
HD KSOE announced that it signed a 2.42 trillion won (US$1.83 billion) contract to build eight vessels including two 200,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, four 174,000 cubic meter LNG carriers, and two 88,000-cubic-meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. On March 26, the company also won an order for four 45,000-cubic-meter LPG carriers worth 267.4 billion won (US$201.8 million) from an Asian shipping company.
HD KSOE, which had said earlier this year that it will conservatively take orders, attained more than 60 percent of its annual target of US$15.7 billion in the first half of 2023 due to a sharp increase in demand. The orders also represented a record high price. Each of 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers is priced at US$262 million per vessel, the highest ever.
The ordered vessels also include many options developed by HD KSOE. As options include technologies developed by HD KSOE, the orders are expected to be more profitable. The 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers will be loaded with HD KSOE’s Hi-ERSN, an LNG reliquefaction system, and Hi-ALS, an air lubrication system. The LNG reliquefaction system is a system that re-liquefies evaporated gas from an LNG cargo hold and can boost energy efficiency by more than 20 percent compared to the existing system. The Hi-ALS System supplies air to the hull surface to reduce frictional resistance, which can slash both fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Article by Kim Eun-jin (www.businesskorea.co.kr)