Hanwha Ocean has won an order for 6 container ships from Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport.
The contract has attracted attention because of its large value, but this news is an example that is difficult to fully understand through the order value alone.
Because these are ships commissioned again by the same shipping company after the first contract last year, it is necessary to distinguish between the results of completed construction and future plans.
3-Line Summary
1. Hanwha Ocean has won an order for 6 ships from Yang Ming Marine Transport.
2. The contract is worth approximately 1조5527억원.
3. Delivery by the second half of 2029 remains a plan.
After 7 Ships Last Year, This Time It Is 6 1만3650-TEU-Class Ships
Hanwha Ocean announced on the 3rd that it had won an order from Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport for 6 LNG dual-fuel container ships. The contract is worth approximately 1조5527억원. Each ship has a capacity of 1만3650 TEU. TEU is a unit indicating a ship’s container-carrying capacity based on a 20-foot container.
The key point of this contract is that it is a follow-up order. In September last year, Yang Ming Marine Transport first ordered 7 1만5880-TEU-class LNG dual-fuel container ships from Hanwha Ocean. Approximately one year later, it placed an additional order for 6 ships. Combined, the two contracts bring the number of LNG dual-fuel container ships commissioned by Yang Ming Marine Transport from Hanwha Ocean to 13.
However, this cannot immediately be regarded as the construction and operating performance of all the ships. The 6 ships contracted this time will be built at the Geoje Shipyard in Gyeongsangnam-do and are scheduled for sequential delivery by the second half of 2029. The signing of the contract is a confirmed fact, but delivery and actual operation are schedules that will proceed in the future.
Hanwha Ocean’s position is that trust in the design and production technology and project-execution capabilities demonstrated in the first project led to additional orders. Yang Ming Marine Transport Chairman Chai Feng-ming also said that the contract demonstrates the two companies’ cooperation and their commitment to building a competitive fleet. These are evaluations and expectations expressed by the two companies and do not mean that long-term cooperation is a confirmed result.
High-Manganese-Steel Fuel Tanks and Hull Optimization Are Included in the Contract
The ships will use Hanwha Ocean’s Type-B LNG fuel tanks based on high-manganese steel, which the company says it developed in-house. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. The dual-fuel propulsion method, which allows ships to use LNG as a fuel together, is a design that considers both fuel options and responses to environmental regulations.
According to Hanwha Ocean, high-manganese steel maintains toughness and strength even at an extremely low temperature of minus 163 degrees. The company also explained that it offers price competitiveness compared with nickel-alloy steel or aluminum. The important point here is not the name of the material, but that tanks storing LNG must withstand extremely low temperatures. This means the technology targets both the safety and economic efficiency of the fuel tanks.
The company also plans to apply the latest hull-optimization technology. Hull form refers to the design related to the shape of a ship underwater. Hanwha Ocean said it would use this technology to improve fuel economy, operating efficiency, and cargo efficiency. The company explained that the aim is to reduce operating costs, including the shipowner’s fuel expenses, and respond to the environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
However, the extent of any actual cost savings or efficiency improvements produced by this technology cannot be confirmed from the announced information alone. Therefore, it is more accurate to view this contract as an agreement under which Hanwha Ocean will apply the relevant design and tank technology to the ordered ships, rather than as proof that efficiency has already been demonstrated.
2조305억원 in Orders Over Two Days, While Commercial-Ship Orders and the MRO Proposal Are Different Matters
Before this contract, on the 1st, Hanwha Ocean also signed a construction contract with a shipowner in the Oceania region for 3 very large gas carriers (VLGCs), worth 4778억원. The total order value over the two days, combining the two contracts, is 2조305억원. It has been confirmed that container ships and VLGCs were contracted in succession, but future ordering trends cannot be asserted on that basis.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Hanwha Ocean also presented a proposal concerning naval-vessel MRO, meaning a maintenance, repair, and overhaul system. A company official argued that the Korean next-generation destroyer KDDX should be pursued as a total-life-cycle management pilot project linking construction with maintenance after delivery. The proposal calls for maintenance and repair preparation funding to be reflected in the 2027 defense budget and for a legal and institutional basis for the initiative to be established.
A roadmap for creating an MRO and ship-repair cluster in the southern area of Busan New Port was also introduced at the discussion forum. A plan involving 1조5000억원 was mentioned, but this was a roadmap explained by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and has not reached the stage where it can be regarded as a completed facility or a confirmed investment. The Hanwha Ocean representative’s intention to make long-term investments was also conditional on factors such as the value of investing in maintenance capabilities being recognized and the cluster being established.
The clearest fact in this Hanwha Ocean news is the 6-ship order contract. The next points to watch are the plan to apply eco-friendly technologies and the delivery schedule extending through the second half of 2029. MRO and the cluster are industrial issues raised on the same day, but unlike the order contract, they remain at the stage of proposals, roadmaps, and conditional investment intentions.
References
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