South Korea’s shipbuilding giants – Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. – won orders worth 520 billion won ($438.4 million) to build two very large ethane carriers (VLECs) each from a shipper in Asia.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., an affiliate under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, and Samsung Heavy Industries separately disclosed Tuesday that they each received orders from an Asian shipper to construct two 98,000-cubic-meter VLECs valued at $110 million per unit. The vessels will be 230 meters wide, 36.6 meters deep and 22.9 meters high.

A VLEC is a large-sized vessel that transports liquefied ethane extracted from natural gas such as shale gas. Korean shipbuilders delivered six VLECs for the first time in the world in 2014. They have so far obtained 16 orders or 80 percent of the total 20 orders for such vessels, with Samsung Heavy clinching 11 deals and Hyundai Heavy five.

Korean shipbuilders boast world’s best technology in building such ships. They apply membrane cargo containment system to enhance cargo carrying capacity and state-of-the-art re-liquefaction technology to improve efficiency. They are far ahead with other rivals such as Chinese shipbuilders in the segment.

Meanwhile, the country’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) also announced Tuesday that it applied its new re-liquefaction system to the two 360,000-cubic-meter liquefied natural gas floating storage units (LNG-FSUs) ordered by a Russian shipper.

The re-liquefaction system called NRS® maximizes efficiency in retrieving as much LNG as possible by using nitrogen as refrigerant. It has been received core components such as compressors and inflators from local supplier Hanwha Power System.

The shipbuilder said it is meaningful that it has applied the technology to an offshore plant facility for the first time. The company will also provide smart management service to the LNG-FSUs including remote monitoring and optimal operation support.

Shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering rose 3.43 percent to close at 90,500 won on Tuesday. Samsung Heavy Industries finished up 4.26 percent to 5,390 won and DSME gained 3.14 percent to 23,000 won.
Source: Pulse