HD KSOE wins $464 million order for four ammonia carriers

by Kim Hee-su Posted : November 6, 2026, 15:21Updated : November 6, 2026, 15:21
A medium-sized gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries undergoes sea trials Courtesy of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
A medium-sized gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries undergoes sea trials. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - South Korean shipbuilding group HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has secured a $464 million order to build four very large ammonia carriers for an African shipping company, it said Friday.


The contract was signed Thursday, with subsidiary HD Hyundai Heavy Industries set to build the vessels and deliver them by the first half of 2030. The shipowner's identity was not disclosed.

The contract is equivalent to 3.58 percent of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' 2025 revenue, according to a regulatory filing. Payments will be made as construction progresses, with the contract running through May 31, 2030.

The latest deal brings HD KSOE's total orders this year to 193 vessels worth $21.2 billion, reaching 91 percent of its annual target of $23.31 billion.

The orders include 62 carriers designed to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ammonia or liquefied carbon dioxide, along with 59 petroleum product tankers, 38 container ships and 17 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) are designed to transport liquefied ammonia, which is widely used in fertilizer production and is also being explored as a potential low-carbon marine fuel.

The latest contract follows several major ammonia carrier orders earlier this year, including a $794 million deal for six vessels in May and a $401 million contract for three vessels in July, both with European customers.

In July, another HD Hyundai shipbuilding subsidiary, HD Hyundai Samho, delivered its first VLAC, the 93,000-cubic-meter Jane Maersk, to Danish shipping company Maersk, marking a milestone in the group's expansion into ammonia transportation.