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HONG
KONG—Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest
shipbuilder, said it received an 852-billion won
($837-million) order from Europe to build nine oil
tankers to meet fuel-transportation demand.
The
suezmax vessels, the second- largest of their type, will
be delivered by March 30, 2012, Ulsan, South Korea-based
Hyundai Heavy said in a regulatory filing Tuesday,
without identifying the buyer.
Yards in
South Korea, the world’s largest shipbuilding nation,
are expanding capacity and using new methods to build
vessels as order backlogs stretch into 2012. They won
almost half of the record $191.3-billion orders placed
last year.
The
price of a suezmax oil tanker was $94.5 million at the
end of April, 5 percent more than the $90-million rate
at the end of 2007, according to London-based Clarkson
Plc., the world’s largest shipbroker.
Hyundai
Heavy received $3.63 billion of orders for vessels and
offshore structures in the first four months of this
year, 15 percent more than a year earlier. That
increased its backlog to $38.1 billion.
The
shipbuilder is expanding capacity as it builds two of
the world’s largest docks and extends the length of
existing ones in South Korea to meet demand. The new
facilities are expected to start operations later this
year.
Hyundai
Heavy stocks have dropped 12 percent this year, compared
with a 3.9-percent decline in
South Korea’s
Kospi index. (Bloomberg) |
