The Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) won a contract worth up to $600 million from Netherlands-based energy and commodities company Vitol to build as many as eight gas tankers, Reuters reported.
HHI will construct two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers with a capacity of 84,000 cubic meters (3 million cubic feet) each.
The ships are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2019.
Under the deal, the energy company holds the option to order six more gas carriers.
The newly built tankers will be designed to consume less fuel and be eco-friendly to meet the International Maritime Organization’s sulphur cap set to come into effect from 2020, Hyundai said in a statement.
From 1972 to 2013, HHI has delivered 2,981 vessels to 268 ship-owners in 48 countries. It commands around 16% of the world's ship manufacturing market.
Headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea, Hyundai Heavy has different business divisions, including shipbuilding, offshore and engineering. The shipyard extends across two and a half miles.