HHI Bags $390mln Order for 2 LNG Carriers

South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) said  it received an order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for an unidentified European shipping company.

Yonhap news agency quoted the shipbuilder saying that the order is valued at 463 billion South Korean won ($390 million), bringing its total number of orders to five so far this year.

The 180,000 cbm vessels, ordered by an undisclosed European owner, are scheduled for delivery by the end of June 2022.

According to the report, the vessels will be equipped with Mark III Flex Plus technology that has a vaporization rate of 0.07 percent, reducing the daily evaporation of fuels. They will also have high efficiency single mixed refrigerant technology that allows the reliquefaction of gas evaporated from the vessels. These technologies could help save up to $1 million per year in fuel costs.

Earlier this week, HHI affiliates Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries also received orders from other European companies for four petrochemical product carriers and two crude oil carriers, respectively.

HHI said demand for the building of LNG-related vessels is likely to grow, considering increasing global demand for LNG development projects and energy exports.