Euronav Orders Two Ammonia-ready VLCCs at Hyundai Samho

Belgium-based Euronav has ordered two very large crude carriers (VLCC) from South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho, with an option for a third.

The fuel-efficient newbuilds will be liquefied natural gas (LNG)-ready, and Euronav said it 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 ships will also be fitted with exhaust gas scrubber technology and ballast water treatment systems.

Hugo De Stoop, Euronav CEO, said, "As a market leader in our segment, Euronav acknowledges our responsibility to support innovation towards decarbonizing the transportation of oil, while protecting and building value with the capital our shareholders have entrusted us with. With this order Euronav is tangibly driving innovation and investing in the energy transition.

"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. 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."

The vessels will be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2022 and first quarter 2023, costing $186 million en-bloc, and including $4.2 million in additions and upgrades to the standard specifications, Euronav said. The optional third VLCC would have the same specifications and would be delivered in the second quarter of 2023.