Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries announced on Friday that it has secured a 341.1 billion won ($239 million) contract to build crude oil carriers, with construction planned at a Vietnamese shipyard as part of a strategy to expand its global operations.
Under the deal, placed by a Liberian shipping company, Samsung will build three vessels. While the company has not disclosed the exact size of the ships, industry analysts suspect, based on the contract value, that they are likely to be medium-to-large Suezmax-class carriers.
Samsung said the new order brings the company to 78 percent of its $5.8 billion commercial vessel order target for the year.
Notably, the ships will be constructed in Vietnam, where Samsung currently does not operate its own shipyard. Samsung said it will build its crude oil carriers at Southeast Asian shipyards, while handling design, major equipment procurement and sourcing domestically.
Samsung has been actively pursuing international operations, as it faces increasing price competition from Chinese rivals. Its limited domestic docks, which must handle a backlog of orders equivalent to roughly three years of full production, have been another motivating factor.
As part of this effort, the company has been in talks with Vietnam’s state-run Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group to jointly build ships in local shipyards. However, Samsung did not clarify whether the new deal is part of this collaboration.
Meanwhile, Samsung plans to transform its Geoje shipyard in South Gyeongsang Province into a hub for technology development, focusing on the manufacture of high-value-added vessels such as liquefied natural gas carriers and eco-friendly container ships.
“(With expanding global manufacturing partnerships,) we aim to build a sustainable and competitive flexible production system to respond to the rapidly changing market environment,” a Samsung Heavy Industries official said.
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