Hyundai Merchant and DSME sign LOI for VLCC series

L to R: Chang-keun Yoo , CEO of Hyundai Marchant Marine and Sung-leep Jung, CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shake hands after signing LOI

APRIL 10, 2017 — A KRW 2.6 trillion ($2.28 billion) Korean government program to revive the domestic shipbuilding industry has resulted in Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) signing a letter of intent (LOI) with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for the construction of five 300,000 dwt very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with an option for five more vessels.

HMM says it formed a “newbuilding examination committee” at the end of last year, and has thoroughly reviewed all the conditions for newbuilding including demand/type/number of vessels, market trend, and investment feasibility etc.

Chang-keun Yoo, CEO of HMM said “We currently operate twelve VLCCs which have been foundational to stable profits and enhancing sales competitiveness. We thought this year is the right time to order new VLCCs at historically low newbuilding price.”

A final agreement will be concluded by the end of July, and discussions are underway about LNG fueling and eco-friendly technology