# HD Hyundai Heavy lands $487 million contract for two LNG ships *The 662.9 billion won order commits dock slots at the Ulsan shipyard through late 2029, lifting group order intake to 93% of its annual target.* **Published:** November 9, 2026 **By:** Hyun-jung Lee **Section:** Shipbuilding & Defense — South Korea **Format:** Breaking **Confidence:** medium **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/shipbuilding/hd-hyundai-heavy-lands-487-million-contract-two-lng-1265 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - HD Hyundai Heavy wins 662.9 billion won ($487.4 million) order for two LNG carriers - Delivery scheduled by Oct. 31, 2029, commits Ulsan shipyard dock slots - Group order intake reaches $21.69 billion, 93.1% of $23.31 billion annual target ![Shipyard workers stand in front of a large liquefied natural gas carrier docked between towering industrial cranes. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-11-09-02e9bb1c4a58.webp) *Shipyard workers stand in front of a large liquefied natural gas carrier docked between towering industrial cranes. (AI-generated image)* HD Hyundai Heavy Industries disclosed a 662.9 billion won ($487.4 million) contract on Nov. 9, 2026, to build two liquefied natural gas carriers for an African shipping company. The award equals 3.77% of the shipbuilder's 2025 consolidated revenue of 17.58 trillion won ($13.1 billion). Each vessel is valued at roughly $243.7 million under contract exchange terms. Construction will take place at the company's primary shipyard in Ulsan. Work under the contract began Nov. 6, with final deliveries scheduled by Oct. 31, 2029. The late 2029 delivery date reflects tight berth availability across South Korea. Domestic shipyards have booked dry dock slots through 2028, pushing new contracting activity into late 2029. Parent holding company HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering disclosed the transaction simultaneously on regulatory dockets, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The holding group manages commercial contracting across three domestic shipbuilders. The contract lifts cumulative 2026 orders at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering to 195 vessels valued at $21.69 billion, the company said. That tally represents 93.1% of its annual order target. The intermediate holding group set an annual order target of $23.31 billion for 2026. Securing the annual goal requires an additional $1.62 billion in contracts before Dec. 31, according to company data. Gas carriers dominate the group's current intake. The portfolio includes 19 liquefied natural gas carriers and 62 liquefied petroleum gas, ammonia and liquefied carbon dioxide vessels. Conventional commercial tonnage accounts for the remaining commitments. The order book includes 59 petrochemical product carriers, 38 container ships, 11 crude tankers, four vehicle carriers and two specialized hulls. The specialized units comprise one icebreaker and one floating storage and regasification unit — a specialized vessel that returns liquefied gas to vapor form offshore. The latest contract follows an order signed Nov. 5 for four very large ammonia carriers from an African shipowner. That deal added 630.1 billion won ($463.8 million) to group bookings, the company said. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also booked a 625.8 billion won ($467 million) contract on Oct. 14 for four gas carriers. That order committed Ulsan berth space through mid-2030. High pricing for gas tonnage has supported shipyard operating margins across South Korea. Standard 174,000-cubic-meter gas carrier prices have remained above $240 million for more than two years. Three-year forward order backlogs have allowed domestic shipbuilders to maintain selective contracting discipline. Builders have prioritized high-margin gas tonnage over lower-yielding dry bulk vessels and standard container ships. The pricing leverage protects operating returns against fluctuations in heavy steel plate prices and rising subcontract labor expenses. Shipbuilding steel accounts for roughly a fifth of vessel construction costs. Selective bidding has coincided with sharper competition from Chinese shipbuilders in premium segments. Chinese yards captured five of the seven large gas carrier contracts placed globally in October. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard have expanded construction infrastructure to shorten delivery queues. Both yards have offered delivery slots roughly six to 12 months ahead of Korean competitors. Aggressive slot marketing pushed China's share of global gas carrier orders to 42.1% through October, up from negligible levels a year earlier. Chinese yards booked 32 hulls during that period. South Korea held 57.9% of global gas carrier volume across the first 10 months of 2026, securing 44 vessels. Domestic yards retain an operational lead among European and American energy charterers. Western project developers have favored Korean membrane containment systems for large export projects. Korean yards hold extensive delivery histories for containment systems licensed from French engineering firm GTT. The Ulsan shipyard will build both hulls using dual-fuel propulsion systems that burn cargo boil-off gas alongside marine fuel. That propulsion design reduces carbon dioxide emissions to meet maritime discharge rules. Contract payments will follow standard shipbuilding milestones. Installments will be distributed across steel cutting, keel laying, launching and delivery stages following receipt of initial advance payments. The regulatory filing does not name the African shipowner due to commercial confidentiality clauses. The disclosure also leaves out individual dry dock utilization percentages across the Ulsan yard. Deliveries under the contract conclude Oct. 31, 2029. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering reviews its final 2026 contract performance following the close of the financial year on Dec. 31. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Two LNG carrier contract | HD Hyundai Heavy commits Ulsan slots through Oct. 2029, lifts parent KSOE to 93.1% of target | Hudong-Zhonghua and Jiangnan hold 42.1% market share on earlier delivery slots | No major exposure, Japanese yards maintain domestic utility carrier focus | Newbuild LNG carrier pricing floor holds firm above $240 million per hull | ## In this story - **Companies:** HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering - **Tickers:** 329180.KS, 009540.KS - **Exposed:** Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Jiangnan Shipyard - **Impact:** Order Book, Capex, Pricing ## Primary sources 1. heraldcorp.com 2. digitaltoday.co.kr 3. m-i.kr 4. cbci.co.kr 5. topstarnews.net --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "HD Hyundai Heavy lands $487 million contract for two LNG ships," November 9, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/shipbuilding/hd-hyundai-heavy-lands-487-million-contract-two-lng-1265