이 기사는 2021년 05월 07일 08:02 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Hyundai Glovis has participated in a bidding war for a contract of affreightment with the state-run Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

The company submitted its technical bid proposal at the end of April, industry sources said on Tuesday.

In March, the Middle Eastern country's state-run petroleum company issued an invitation to tender to ship owners for the chartering of LNG carriers for its future LNG shipping requirements at its offshore North Field expansion project, the largest-ever single LNG vessel order. Final results are expected in November.

Hyundai Glovis' participation in the bid hadn’t been known until the QP announced the results of the pre-qualification in March. Details of Hyundai Glovis’ proposal are not known.

This contrasts with its rival Korea Consortium’s move. The consortium composed of five bulk carriers – Korea Line Corp, Pan Ocean, SK Shipping, H-Line Shipping, and Hyundai LNG Shipping - has been in talks to participate in the project since 2019, with Korea Development Bank, Korea Ocean Business Corp, and Korea Shipowners’ Association supporting the consortium.

Hyundai Glovis reportedly approached the Korea Consortium to join hands after the results of the pre-qualification were announced. This shows how keen Hyundai Glovis is to win the orders even though it later decided not to join the consortium.

Hyundai Glovis has dreamed of entering the LNG carrier business since the early 2010s, with the company participating in several bidding wars to win LNG carrier orders, which all ended in failure.

The company finally signed a sale-and-leaseback deal with John Fredriksen's Flex LNG for a pair of modern vessels in July 2019. Hyundai Glovis has been putting utmost efforts to expand the business since then.

It is notable that the LNG carrier takes up a small part in the Hyundai Glovis’s business. The company recorded revenue of 16.5 trillion won ($14.6 billion) in 2020 on a consolidated basis, of which 14.6% came from the shipping division. Its shipping business largely consists of two divisions – the overseas shipment for finished vehicles and the bulk export and import. The latter accounts for 30~40% of the shipping business’s revenue.

The company currently operates 32 bulk carriers, including only two LNG carriers. Considering there are 76 pure car and truck carriers, the company’s LNG carrier business has only just started.

Hyundai Glovis is eager to win the race in a bid to prepare for its next step, the expansion of the hydrogen carrier business. The company’s experience in the LNG transportation services could be helpful for the hydrogen transportation services as it has primarily handled car-shipping vessels so far.

Hyundai Glovis signed memorandum of understanding with Norwegian shipping group Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA on concerted joint efforts for shipping eco-friendly energy resources such as LNG and hydrogen.

It also announced last year that a liquefied hydrogen carrier blueprint that it had developed with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has received approval in principle in Korea and Liberia. (Reporting by Su-jin Yoo)