Two $220 million VLEC orders booked by local shipbuilders

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Two $220 million VLEC orders booked by local shipbuilders

A very large ethane carrier (VLEC) built by Samsung Heavy Industries. [SHI]

A very large ethane carrier (VLEC) built by Samsung Heavy Industries. [SHI]

 
Korean shipbuilders reported Tuesday they won orders to build very large ethane carriers (VLECs) from an Asian shipper.

 
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) announced they each received $220 million orders to supply VLECs to the customer.  
 
The shipbuilders reported on Tuesday they won the order to build two 98,000-cubic-meter (3,460,837-cubic-foot) VLECs for an unidentified shipper by 2022.
 
A VLEC is a large vessel that transports liquefied ethane extracted from natural gas, like shale gas.
 
“VLEC is a market anticipated to secure more orders if ethane exporting countries, like the U.S. or Norway, raise the production,” said a spokesperson for SHI in a statement. “Based on the unmatched technical skills and the shipbuilding experience, [SHI] will continue to dominate the market.”
 
In 2014, Korean shipbuilders delivered six VLECs.  
 
So far, SHI has won 11 orders, including the two reported today, out of all the VLEC orders globally. Hyundai Heavy Industries, a subsidiary of KSOE, has received the order for the other five.
 
Meanwhile, KSOE won an approval from Singapore for the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering on Tuesday.
 
Singapore is the second country to approve the merger after Kazakhstan. It is still waiting for the approval of Korea, China, Japan and the European Union.
 
BY JIN MIN-JI   [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]
 

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