Naftomar will pay nearly 500 million dollars to build four large ammonia carriers (VLACs) at South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean shipyard.
As Hanwha reported, each ship will be able to transport 93,000 cubic meters of ammonia, which means they will be the largest ammonia carriers in the world. The four ships will be delivered to the company by the first half of 2027.
According to a report by “Naftemporiki”, Naftomar has focused on ammonia, examining its “green” prospects. “We believe it is the solution for decarbonization,” Talal Zein, the company’s head of trading, said.
The VLACs, which will be able to use ammonia as fuel after engine conversions, will also be equipped with additional environmentally friendly fuel-saving technologies and “smart” functions.
“With this order, Hanwha Ocean’s environmentally friendly shipping technology is once again recognized. We will build high-quality ships that can pave the way in terms of ecology and digitization,” a representative of the South Korean shipyard stated.
Growth strategy
“Naftomar is aggressively expanding its fleet, with an emphasis on large LPG carriers, in order to become a leader in the energy transition and in the field of decarbonization. We placed a large order, believing in Hanwha Ocean’s technological capability and the prospects of the future ammonia market,” a representative of Naftomar commented.
Naftomar, owned by the Lebanese family Zein, has been based in Voula since 1991. It mainly manages a fleet of LPG carriers, while it has recently invested in product tankers.
