STX Offshore & Shipbuilding announced on June 19 that it won an order for six very large crude carriers from Norwegian oil tanker and shipping magnate John Fredriksen. The order consists of two firm orders and four optional ones.
Each VLCC has a weight of 300,000 DWT (deadweight tons), featuring 330 meters in length, 60 meters in width and 30 meters in depth. STX Shipbuilding plans to complete the delivery by 2017. Although the newbuilding price is not disclosed, the industry estimated the per-ship price to be around US$96 million (about 106 billion won).
An STX official said, "Our ship construction competency in mid-sized tankers has been highly recognized, leading to the ultra large-sized VLCC order." STX, which has been managed by a group of creditors since July 2013, saw its orders rise sharply thereafter.
The shipyard obtained orders for six mid-sized tankers last month, with its order backlogs ranking No. 11 among the world's major shipyards. The company reduced its operating loss to 313.7 billion won last year from 1.56 trillion won in 2013.
