South Korean shipbuilding major HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has received a KRW 538.3 billion ($372 million) order to build four LNG bunkering vessels.
Under the shipbuilding contract revealed on February 10, four 18,000 cubic meter (cbm) LNG bunkering vessels will be built by HD Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan.
The 143-meter-long ships will be sequentially delivered by the second half of 2028.
The LNG bunkering vessels were ordered by an undisclosed African shipping company.
Prior to the latest order, HD Hyundai Mipo secured a $185.4 million contract for the construction of two LNG bunkering vessels for an undisclosed, Europe-based shipping company in September 2024.
Shortly after, the South Korean shipbuilder revealed a new order worth around $370 million for four 18,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessels to be built for an undisclosed shipping company in Asia. At the time, market rumors indicated that Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) and Swiss major MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company had jointly ordered these four bunkering vessels.
According to the Korea LNG Bunkering Industry Association, the number of ships (excluding LNG carriers) using LNG as propulsion fuel is expected to increase by 149% from 472 in 2023 to 1,174 in 2033. The annual global consumption of LNG for bunkering is also expected to increase, reaching 15 million tons in 2028. This is about a 4.7-fold increase compared to 2023.
The increase is also forecast by the industry coalition SEA-LNG , estimating that over 2,000 of the world’s 60,000 largest vessels will be powered by LNG in the near future with active LNG-fueled vessels now representing over 2% of the global shipping fleet.
In support of this expansion, LNG bunkers are currently available in 185 ports, with an additional 50 being added in 2025.