Panoramic view of Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard (courtesy of Hanwha Ocean)
Hanwha Ocean has secured its first commercial ship order of the New Year 2026.
Hanwha Ocean announced on the 14th via a regulatory filing that it had won an order for three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) from a shipowner in the Middle East. The contract value totals KRW 572.2 billion, equivalent to approximately 5.3% of Hanwha Ocean’s recent sales of KRW 10.7760 trillion.
For contractual reasons, Hanwha Ocean did not officially disclose the contracting party or detailed terms.
This order is known to be a newbuilding VLCC contract placed by ASYAD, the state‑owned logistics and shipping company of Oman. The price is reported to be around USD 129 million (approximately KRW 190 billion) per vessel.
With the global VLCC fleet aging rapidly and the gradual phase‑out of obsolete vessels becoming unavoidable, market observers assess that newbuilding demand is highly likely to be sustained over the medium to long term. In particular, the Middle East, as a core hub for crude oil transport volumes, continues to generate stable demand for large tanker orders.
Leveraging its accumulated design and construction experience and technological competitiveness in the VLCC segment, Hanwha Ocean has been building trust with major shipowners worldwide. The company plans to maintain a selective order‑intake strategy focused on large high value‑added vessels, while responding flexibly to market volatility.
Hwang So-young
AI-translated with ChatGPT. Provided as is; original Korean text prevails.
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