Hyundai Samho Heavy Bags LNG Capesize Pair Order from H-Line

South Korean midsized shipping company H-Line, owned by local private equity firm Hahn & Co, has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered 180,000 dwt capesizes at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI).

A report by Yonhap, quoting the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries sources, said that the LNG-powered 180,000-ton vessels will be used on a route between South Korea and Australia starting from 2021.

According to the Ministry, the bulk carriers will be the first LNG ships in South Korea to sail on a foreign shipping route.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder by sales, owns 80.54 percent of Hyundai Samho Heavy.

South Korean shipyards have outstanding expertise in building LNG carriers and bunkering shuttles, but they are still in the early stages when it comes to LNG-powered ships and related bunkering infrastructure, it said.

South Korean government is funding 9.6 billion won for the project to help develop the emerging marine transport sector comply with the International Maritime Organization's sulfur cap on bunkers, set to be enforced in 2020.