KSOE lands $784 million deal for LNG carrier trio

South Korean shipbuilding heavyweight Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has received an order for three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

KSOE’s unit Hyundai Heavy Industries will construct the 200,000 cbm LNG vessels for an undisclosed shipowner from Oceania. The value of the contract is KRW 971.4 billion ($784 million).

The ships are slated for delivery in stages by November 2026, according to KSOE’s stock exchange filling.

It has been a great year for KSOE’s yards, as the company managed to exceed its yearly target of $17.4 billion. Namely, KSOE has won orders for 190 vessels, mainly driven by the demand for LNG carriers, pushing its orderbook to $22.8 billion.

In July last year, the company won a major order for 10 LNG carriers from undisclosed shipowners from Europe and Oceania.

KSOE also recently embarked on a project with Shell, Doosan Fuel Cell, HyAxiom, and classification society DNV to use a 600KW high-efficiency solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) for power generation on a 174,000 cubic-metre LNG carrier to be run by Shell from 2025.

The LNG carrier will use fuel cells as an auxiliary power unit (APU) and perform its demonstration for one year on the actual trade route.

LNG has been described as a transitional fuel for the shipping industry for years now, and a practical solution for shipowners who want to act now on their emissions and not wait on the side-lines.

Investments in LNG dual-fuel vessels have been record high this year. LNG and other alternative fuels make up 4.5% of the fleet when looking at the gross tonnage and 44% of the orderbook, data from Clarksons Research shows.