South Korea’s shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has signed an agreement to build two 158,000 dwt Suezmax crude tankers for a Turkey-based shipping company Ditas Shipping.
The deal, worth between USD 120 to 140 million, will see HHI deliver the vessels to their owner in 2018, Yonhap news agency reported.
After HHI failed to win any orders in January, this deal marks the first one this year.
The order comes as the shipbuilding industry reported a slow start of 2016. Namely, the South Korea’s three major shipbuilders reported a drop in earnings, due to a protracted decrease in oil prices and increased costs.
HHI recently reported a net loss of USD 1.13 billion for 2015, a 38.2% drop from a year earlier when it posted a USD 1.84 billion loss.
HHI’s sales were down by 12.1% compared to a year earlier, while operating loss decreased by 52.6% year-on-year.
“2015 was a tough year for us due to unfavorable market conditions such as prolonged low oil prices and global economic downturn, ” HHI said.
World Maritime News Staff