Hanwha Ocean has confirmed a $500 million contract for two LNG carriers due by November 2029. Industry reports identify Zodiac Maritime as the buyer, but the shipbuilder’s filing names only an unidentified Africa-based shipowner.

Zodiac Maritime may be entering the conventional liquefied natural gas carrier market for the first time, extending a fleet that already spans tankers, containerships, bulk carriers, vehicle carriers and LPG ships.

The reported move centres on a KRW680 billion ($499.6 million) contract for two LNG carriers confirmed by South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean on September 28. The contract runs to November 2, 2029. Its disclosed value covers both ships, rather than each vessel individually.

Splash247, citing shipbuilding sources, identified London-based Zodiac as the buyer and reported options for two additional vessels. Lloyd’s List has separately described the arrangement as two firm ships plus two options. Hanwha’s public filing, however, identifies its customer only as an Africa-based shipowner and confirms two vessels. Neither Zodiac’s role nor the reported options have been established in the public filing.

A different kind of LNG exposure

For Zodiac, the distinction is commercial as well as technical. The company already operates ships that burn LNG as fuel, including dual-fuel pure car and truck carriers. An LNG carrier instead transports the fuel as cargo in insulated tanks designed for extremely low temperatures.

Zodiac’s published fleet categories include LPG carriers, but do not list conventional LNG carriers. That supports the significance of the reported expansion, although a website listing alone cannot verify whether this would be its first ownership interest in the sector.

The potential order would add another segment to a broad newbuilding programme. Zodiac’s own account of its fleet expansion describes a business active across container, dry bulk, tanker, LPG and vehicle shipping. Splash247 reported in May that the owner had ordered three firm very large ammonia carriers at Hanwha, with options for two more. Those ammonia ships are a separate programme and should not be counted among the new LNG carriers.

The questions behind a 2029 delivery

Long lead times make the commercial arrangements particularly important. By the time these ships are scheduled to arrive, LNG export capacity, trade routes and the number of competing vessels could all differ substantially from today’s market.

The International Energy Agency said in its July 2026 gas market report that new supply projects outside the Gulf were reshaping LNG flows, while disruption to Middle Eastern exports had introduced considerable uncertainty into the medium-term outlook. That backdrop helps explain interest in future shipping capacity; it does not establish why Zodiac may have placed this particular order. No charterer, financing package or vessel employment has been publicly identified for the two ships.

For Hanwha, the confirmed contract adds to an active order year. The builder had secured 41 vessels worth $7.71 billion in 2026 as of September 28, including eight LNG carriers, according to Yonhap’s account of its disclosures. For Zodiac, the next decisive disclosure would be confirmation of its connection to the Africa-based contracting entity—and whether the reported options and commercial cover are in place.