Samsung Heavy lands order for 2 ice tankers

Samsung Heavy Industries said Monday it inked a deal worth 187.5 billion won ($158 million) to build two ice-class crude tankers for a shipping line in Europe.

The two Aframax tankers, medium-sized oil tankers with dead weight tonnage between 85,000 and 125,000, will be delivered by March 2022.

The ice-class tankers are capable of operating safely even when colliding with ice up to 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) thick at minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit), the Korean shipbuilder said in a statement.

This feature means the ships are nearly twice the price of similar-sized tankers.

With the latest order, the company has inked a total of $7.1 billion worth of orders this year, reaching 91 percent of its proposed $7.8 billion target.

A spokesperson from Samsung Heavy said its performance is meaningful in that the deals come at a time when global shipbuilding orders have declined due to unfavorable trade conditions like the trade war between the United States and China.

The company said it will continue expanding its presence in the global market by focusing on building high-value added ships like liquefied natural gas carriers and ice-class oil tankers.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [[email protected]]