Pan Ocean keeps VLCC push rolling
The Harim Group-controlled owner adds two more supertankers to a fast-growing crude tanker pipeline.
South Korean owner Pan Ocean has moved again in the VLCC newbuilding market, adding two more supertankers to its growing crude tanker pipeline.
The Harim Group-controlled company has lined up a fresh pair of VLCC newbuildings, extending a run of crude tanker investments that has quickly reshaped its fleet profile. The latest ships follow Pan Ocean's May disclosure of a KRW783.4bn ($525m) investment in four VLCCs, equal to about $131m per vessel. Those four ships are understood to have been ordered at Hanwha Ocean, with deliveries scheduled for the second half of 2030.
Pan Ocean has already secured employment for the quartet. Splash reported last week that the company had signed a 20-year crude transport contract with SK Energy and SK Incheon Petrochem worth about $1.62bn.
The latest two-ship move adds further scale to Pan Ocean's tanker expansion, which has gathered pace over the past year. Earlier this year, the company agreed to acquire 10 VLCCs from SK Shipping in a deal worth close to $700m, sharply increasing its exposure to the crude tanker sector.
Pan Ocean had already entered the VLCC newbuilding market through a pair of 300,000 dwt vessels ordered at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2025 at around $127m each, due for delivery in the third quarter of 2027. It has also been linked to a VLCC at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, a Chinese yard where it has previously ordered newcastlemax bulk carriers. The latest pair is due for delivery by September 2030; the ships will be ammonia-ready and cost about $122m each.
