Hanwha Ocean wins $500 million LNG carrier deal from Zodiac

Hanwha Ocean signed a 680 billion won ($500 million) contract on Sept. 28, 2026, to construct two liquefied natural gas carriers for an unidentified African owner linked to Zodiac Maritime.

The transaction marks the first conventional LNG carrier order for the London-based shipping group. Zodiac Maritime has historically focused on container vessels, dry bulk tonnage and crude oil tankers.

The agreement represents 5.3% of the shipbuilder's 2025 revenue of 12.78 trillion won. It prices each 174,000-cubic-meter vessel at approximately 340 billion won ($250 million), in line with current market levels.

The contract lifts Hanwha Ocean's commercial order intake for September to 2.89 trillion won ($2.1 billion). The shipbuilder secured orders across three different vessel classes during the month.

Hanwha Ocean booked three very large gas carriers on Sept. 1 from an Oceania customer. Two days later, Taiwan container line Yang Ming Marine Transport ordered six dual-fuel container vessels.

That container ship contract added 1.55 trillion won ($1.14 billion) to the yard's balance sheet. The 13,650-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit vessels will operate on liquefied natural gas propulsion systems.

Hanwha Ocean has booked 41 vessels worth $7.71 billion in 2026. The commercial total includes 18 very large crude carriers and eight full-size LNG carriers.

The shipyard's 2026 tally also comprises six container ships, three very large ammonia carriers, three very large gas carriers and one offshore wind turbine installation vessel, the company said.

Zodiac Maritime arranged the transaction through an Africa-based special purpose entity. The commercial agreement contains options to build two additional vessels of the same specification.

The deal broadens an aggressive fleet investment strategy managed by Zodiac Chairman Eyal Ofer. The diversified shipping company controls approximately 80 tankers in service or on order worldwide.

Independent fleet managers are deploying surplus capital into cryogenic gas transport — ships engineered to hold cargo at minus 162 degrees Celsius — to capture durable revenues.

Container freight rates and bulk charter rates have experienced severe price swings over the past two years. In contrast, liquefied natural gas shipping commands multi-year time charters with creditworthy energy producers.

Geopolitical disruptions along maritime chokepoints have also reshaped natural gas trade flows. Importers across Europe and East Asia are contracting dedicated tonnage to safeguard fuel deliveries against sudden transit bottlenecks.

The new contract deepens Zodiac Maritime's commercial ties with Hanwha Ocean. The shipowner contracted three firm very large ammonia carriers at the Geoje facility earlier in May.

That ammonia program had a firm contract value of 507.4 billion won ($345 million). Options on that contract could expand the build series to five ships worth $575 million.

Zodiac Maritime has simultaneously placed dry and liquid cargo contracts with Chinese shipyards. The group added four suezmax crude tankers at Jiangsu New Hantong earlier this year.

The owner also booked two 7,000-car-equivalent-unit pure car and truck carriers at Yantai CIMC Raffles. Those vehicle carriers will feature dual-fuel engines for delivery in 2028.

Independent shipowners continue to favor South Korean shipbuilders for high-complexity gas vessels. Korean yards maintain extensive patent arrangements and fabrication experience with French engineering group GTT's membrane containment systems.

Chinese yards have steadily expanded their construction slots for liquefied gas carriers. Nevertheless, top-tier international commercial owners still turn to Korean builders when placing unchartered speculative tonnage.

Hanwha Ocean has prioritized high-specification gas and crude carriers to safeguard yard profitability against high raw-material prices. Steel plate and marine propulsion equipment costs remain elevated across the shipbuilding sector.

Available construction berths remain scarce across South Korea's three major shipbuilding groups through 2028. Shipowners requesting delivery slots before 2030 face firm vessel prices that exceed $250 million per carrier.

Hanwha Ocean must deliver the two firm LNG vessels to the buyer by Nov. 2, 2029. Both hulls will undergo assembly at the shipbuilder's Geoje shipbuilding complex.

Yard operations at the Geoje complex face labor headwinds following prolonged wage disputes. Unionized workers staged walkouts in mid-September that briefly halted all four Goliath gantry cranes at the yard.

Management and union representatives plan to resume formal wage negotiations on Sept. 29. The shipbuilder must resolve the labor disagreement to prevent production delays on its 2026 delivery commitments.

The regulatory filing does not name Zodiac Maritime, identifying the counterparty only as an Africa-based buyer, and Hanwha Ocean has not published the vessel charter rates or option pricing.