UAE-based shipping company the Foresight Group has ordered four 90,000-cubic-metre LPG/ammonia carriers from South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The contracts have an estimated total value of US$470 million. Deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2029 and 2030.
A Foresight official said the dual-fuel very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) are the first four ships in a planned 10-vessel programme valued at about US$1.2 billion. Deliveries across the full programme are expected to proceed in phases from the fourth quarter of 2029 to the fourth quarter of 2033.
The group currently operates seven very large gas carriers (VLGCs), transporting LPG from the US for Indian state-owned oil companies.
According to the official, disruption in the Strait of Hormuz had led buyers to obtain cargoes in the US and transport them to India or Southeast Asia.
"If Indian state-owned oil refiners require newbuild tonnage for longer periods, we are ready to lock with them on long-term charters," the official said.
Foresight also intends to keep buying mid-life VLGCs on the secondhand market, with a target of at least 25 internationally trading VLGCs and VLACs by 2034. Earlier secondhand purchases include the 2009-built, 80,800-cubic-metre Progress in 2022.
The official said the group would consider LNG, ethane, or similar gas-based tonnage once it has more than 20 ships in operation.