Korean shipbuilders win big LNG vessel orders

Two leading South Korean shipbuilders announced big orders today related to Liquefied Natural Gas. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipbuilder, today said that it had won orders worth $1.1 billion for four liquefied natural gas carriers and an LNG floating storage regasification unit.

And in  two separate stock exchange announcements, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., reported orders worth a total $610 million for eight vessels. Two of those are a pair of LNG carriers for Russia’s Sovcomflot. The others are for six tankers for a European customer. Interestingly the Yonhap news agency describes the tanker order as “a deal with John Fredriksen.”

Two of the Hyundai Heavy LNG newbuilds are also for a company in the Fredriksen empire: Golar LNG.

Hyundai Heavy won orders to build two 162,000 cubic meters LNG carriers for Golar LNG of Norway on February 10 and two same-class ships for an unnamed European shipowner on February 8. The contract with Golar LNG includes an option exercisable by the Norwegian company for two additional same-class LNG carriers. The LNG carriers for Golar LNG will be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, a Hyundai Heavy affiliate.

These membrane-type LNG carriers, scheduled to be delivered between the second quarter of 2014 and the first half of 2015, will feature the Dual Fuel Diesel Engine System (DFDE) which allows the ships to run on oil fuel or natural gas.

In addition, Hyundai Heavy won an order to build a third LNG Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) for Hoegh on February 13. The contract for the LNG FSRU is an option exercised by Hoegh from the original contract signed in June 2011. The 170,000 cubic meters LNG FSRU is scheduled to be delivered by the second quarter of 2014.

February 14, 2012