SK Oceanplant signs Greek owner for up

South Korea's SK Oceanplant has signed a contract for six new aframax tankers, with options for another two, from a Greek owner. The firm order is worth approximately $430 million, or about $71.6 million per vessel.

The customer has requested anonymity. The yard's regulatory filing will keep the owner's name confidential until February 28, 2027.

Contract details and financial impact

The six 115,000 dwt vessels will be built at SK Oceanplant's Goseong complex, with deliveries scheduled between 2029 and June 2030. The $430 million contract value equals 61.41% of the yard's revenue for 2025. No contract deposit or advance payment is required; payments will be linked to construction milestones.

This order significantly extends the yard's forward workload. At the end of June, SK Oceanplant's orderbook stood at KRW 1.11 trillion. The firm aframax contract alone adds more than half that amount again. Exercising the two options would push the total backlog close to KRW 2 trillion.

Strategic shift in business focus

The deal represents SK Oceanplant's largest merchant shipbuilding contract in years. It sharpens the company's strategic push back into commercial shipbuilding after several years where offshore wind foundations were the business centerpiece.

The company has not abandoned smaller merchant work. In July, it booked two 6,800 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers from a domestic owner for about KRW 71.8 billion. The yard explicitly signaled plans to expand its commercial shipbuilding business. SK Oceanplant previously delivered stainless chemical tankers before shifting much of its attention to offshore wind and offshore structures.

Yard ownership and background

The aframax order comes as ownership of the Goseong yard is about to change. As reported by Splash, SK ecoplant has agreed to sell its entire 35.62% stake in SK Oceanplant to a consortium led by The Ocean Asset Management for about $299 million. The deal covers 22.26 million shares and is expected to close before year-end, with Osung Advanced Materials joining as a co-investor.

The incoming owner has stated it intends to keep investing in offshore wind while expanding SK Oceanplant's Goseong manufacturing footprint. Formerly known as Samkang M&T, the yard was brought under SK ecoplant's control in 2022 and renamed SK Oceanplant the following year as the group sought to build a major offshore wind fabrication platform. Offshore wind substructures generated KRW 325.6 billion of the yard's revenue last year, around one-third of the total.