South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said it would build in total six new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under two contracts it revealed on Tuesday.
Under the first contract, DSME will build two 174,000-cbm LNG carriers for an unidentified owner in Asia and deliver them by May 2026.
Moreover, the contract’s value reaches about 616.7 billion won ($430 million) or some $215 million per vessel, according to the shipbuilder.
As per the second contract, DSME will construct four LNG carriers for an owner based in Europe and deliver the ships by October 2026.
Also, the shipbuilder said that this contract has a price tag of 1.23 trillion won ($860 million) or about $215 per vessel.
Shipbuilding sources said these deals are tied to the giant shipbuilding program by QatarEnergy.
Prior to this contract, Greece-based TMS Cardiff Gas ordered two 174,000-cbm LNG carriers at DSME under the program.
Sources said at the time that Japan’s Meiji Shipping and Malaysia’s MISC were expected to sign contracts for LNG carriers as well.
It appears that Meiji ordered these four LNG carriers and MISC two.
With these new orders, DSME exceeded its annual order target of $8.9 billion.
The shipbuilder, which is being acquired by South Korea’s Hanwha Group, won orders for 44 ships this year, including six LNG-powered containerships and 36 LNG tankers.
DSME recently also terminated a contract for two LNG carriers it won in July this year.