Korean shipyards sign $2.4 billion Iranian deals

An Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines container ship arrives at the Busan Port with 4,550 containers on Feb. 22. /Yonhap

By Lee Jin-a

Korean shipyards have reached preliminary deals with Iranian shipping and oil companies for orders estimated at $2.4 billion, the Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) for up to 10 petroleum-product tankers and six bulk carriers, sources said.

The tankers cost about $30 million each, while the bulk carriers are about $20 million apiece, a source said.

Hyundai Heavy is competing with China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry to sign a deal for six 14,500-container ships with IRISL.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), another major Korean shipbuilder, is negotiating with Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) for orders for at least five jack-up rigs worth about $205 million each.

“The yards are making slots available to the Iranians starting in 2018 and 2019,” a source said. “The Iranians are trying to make the 20 percent down payments through oil state-to-state deals to finalize the orders.”

IRISL is a major Iranian shipping company that operates about 115 oceangoing vessels, with a total capacity of 3.3 million deadweight tons. IOOC is a subsidiary of state oil giant National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which has a third share of Iranian oil exports.