South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said it would build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under a new contract worth about $500 million.
DSME said on Friday it would construct the two LNG carriers for an unidentified owner in the Americas.
Moreover, the shipbuilder said the contract has a price tag of 710.3 billion won or about $500 million.
The price of $250 million per vessel is one of the highest-ever prices paid for a single LNG carrier with a capacity of 174,000 cbm or more.
Prices for LNG carrier newbuilds surged since last year from about $180-$185 million to about $240-$250 million this year.
DSME said it would deliver the two LNG vessels by December 2026.
One shipbuilding source told LNG Prime that the owner behind this order is US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG.
Earlier this year, Venture Global ordered three 200,000 cbm LNG carriers at DSME, the company’s first move into LNG shipping. These LNG carriers have each a price tag of about $235 million.
DSME did not reveal whether the two new LNG carriers have a capacity of 200,000 cbm.
Including this contract, DSME won orders worth about $9.9 billion. It previously already exceeded its target of $8.9 billion with the big part of LNG carrier orders tied to the massive QatarEnergy program.
The shipbuilder, which is being acquired by South Korea’s Hanwha Group, won orders for six LNG-powered containerships and 36 LNG tankers this year.
DSME recently also terminated a contract for two LNG carriers it won in July this year.
(Article updated to include additional information regarding the owner behind the order.)
