Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has been linked to another shipbuilding deal for very large ethane carriers (VLECs) in South Korea.
Brokers have placed Japan’s largest shipowner behind an order for three 98,000 cu m newbuilds, which Samsung Heavy Industries revealed in late December.
The VLECs will cost around $168m each and be delivered by December 2027 into long-term charter contracts.
MOL also contracted three VLECs at the end of last year in a similar deal with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries yard in Ulsan. These 98,000 cu m newbuilds, tied to charter contracts with India’s Reliance Industries, should deliver in the first half of 2027.