“3.3 trillion Mozambique hit a big blow”… Shipbuilding industry excited by consecutive LNG carrier orders

Input 2020.12.23 10:20

At the end of the year, the Korean shipbuilding industry is receiving orders for a high-value-added vessel, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. The shipowner was not disclosed according to the confidentiality agreement, but the shipbuilding industry believes that it was the Mozambique LNG project order from the French energy company Total.

According to the shipbuilding industry on the 23rd Samsung Heavy Industries (010140)Has won orders for a total of 8 LNG carriers worth KRW 1.63 trillion over three days from the 21st. Accordingly, it succeeded in increasing the accumulated order performance this year to $5.5 billion. Samsung Heavy Industries, which achieved only 6% of orders in the first half of the year, secured 65% of this year’s order target (8.4 billion dollars).

Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, also signed a contract to build a total of six LNG carriers worth 1.21.1 trillion won over two days on the 21st and 22nd. With this contract, Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering received a total of 113 vessels ($9.5 billion) this year, achieving 86% of the annual order target ($11 billion).

The shipbuilding industry believes that it may have been linked to the Mozambique LNG project of Total, a French energy company, given the fact that high-priced LNG carriers have been ordered one after another. LNG carriers are high-value-added ships with an average price of $186,000 (based on 174,000㎥), and require high construction technology, which makes Korean shipbuilders highly competitive.

Total is expected to place orders for a total of 16 vessels to transport LNG to be produced in the Mozambique gas field, and Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries are known to have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for each of eight vessels and awaiting orders. Initially, orders were expected to be won at the end of August, but industry officials explained that the time was delayed due to simultaneous charter agreements. With 16 ships, the amount is 3.3 trillion won.

Regarding this, an official from Samsung Heavy Industries said, “It is difficult to confirm additional information other than the public information.” Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering officials also said, “There is no information that can be confirmed other than the publicly disclosed matters.”