Belgium-based independent oil shipping firm Euronav said Thursday it entered into a deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Samho for two LNG-ready very large crude carriers.
The order has a price tag of $186 million en-bloc and includes $4.2 million in additions and upgrades to the standard specifications, according to Euronav.
Hyundai Samho will deliver the vessels during the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.
Euronav says the vessels will be LNG-ready and consequently there is an ability to cut CO2 emissions compared to current market standards.
Furthermore, Euronav is working in cooperation with the yard and classification society to include an ammonia-ready notation with the potential to reduce CO2 emissions to zero when technology, logistics and the regulatory framework allows for it, the firm said.
The shipping firm says this should complete by the end of the summer.
Option for third VLCC
In addition to fuel efficiency, the newbuildings will feature exhaust gas scrubber technology and ballast water treatment systems, the firm said.
Euronav also has the option to contract a third VLCC with the same specifications that would be delivered in the second quarter of 2023, it said.
“These ships are not only the latest generation of low consumption design but also have the option to be converted or retrofitted to use either LNG or ammonia as a low emission fuel of the future,” chief executive of Eurnoav, Hugo De Stoop, said.
“As there are no such alternatives in the second-hand market today, and with rising steel prices and constraints over yard capacity to 2024, we wanted to seize this opportunity to rejuvenate the fleet with two or three modern VLCCs that will replace older and less efficient ships that will leave our fleet around the same time of their delivery,” he said.
To remind, Euronav said earlier this year it had entered into a deal to buy two LNG-ready Suezmax newbuilds under construction at South Korea’s Daehan Shipyard.
The Korean yard is finalizing the construction of the vessels and plans to deliver them in January 2022.
