Greek shipowner picks Korea over China, orders 4 tankers worth 574 billion won

Stealth Maritime, a shipping company under Greece's Vafias Group, has placed new orders with Korean shipbuilders for four vessels: very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and product tankers (LR2s). With Chinese yards dominating the global orderbook, the decision to partner with Korean builders reflects a strategic choice based on future asset resale value and geopolitical risk.

According to a Hanwha Ocean disclosure on Nov. 8, Stealth Maritime ordered two 320,000-ton VLCCs from Hanwha Ocean. It also ordered two 115,000-ton LR2s from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, signing construction contracts worth a combined $422 million (about 574 billion won). The new vessels are scheduled for delivery sequentially from 2029 to 2030.

The per-vessel price of the VLCCs ordered from Hanwha Ocean is about $133 million (about 180 billion won). Hanwha Ocean has secured 21 VLCC orders this year alone, strengthening its position in the large crude carrier market. The per-vessel price of the LR2s to be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is reported at about $78 million (about 106 billion won).

Stealth Maritime split the orders according to the specialized docks and production schedules of the two builders. Large crude carriers require extensive work space, making large docks like Hanwha Ocean's Geoje yard suitable. Product tankers, with relatively shorter build cycles, were placed on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' production lines to improve construction efficiency.

With this contract, Stealth Maritime's newbuildings under construction at Korean yards now total 20 vessels. The total investment amounts to about $2 billion (about 2.72 trillion won). Vafias Group had exited the large crude carrier market after 2008, but returned early this year by ordering two VLCCs from Hanwha Ocean and has now added further contracts, steadily expanding its crude and product transportation capacity.

Vafias Group operates about 100 vessels through five listed and unlisted companies. This large tanker investment was led by Stealth Maritime, an unlisted entity. The group is rebuilding its long-haul, high-volume transportation base with VLCCs while establishing a diversified system with product tankers to handle varying cargo volumes and route conditions.

Unlike the more than 75% of Greek owners' new orders that go to Chinese yards, Vafias Group insists on Korean-built ships. This reflects an asset-trading perspective: Korean-built vessels command higher values in the secondhand market and trade more readily. Geopolitical risks, including trade friction between the United States and China, are also reported to be a key factor in choosing the country of build.

Even as it expands its fleet, Vafias Group remains wary of market volatility. With newbuilding orders surging recently, it worries that an end to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could push down daily charter rates. Indeed, StealthGas, a listed company under the group, paid off all its bank debt in the third quarter of last year to secure financial soundness in preparation for a potential freight rate decline.

※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.