New York-listed VLGC owner Dorian LPG has confirmed its place among many big names jumping on the heated bandwagon for very large ammonia carriers.
The John Hadjipateras-led company said in its latest quarterly earnings report it had contracted one VLGC/ammonia vessel for delivery in the third quarter of 2026, with the first installment of $23.8m already paid in January.
“We placed an order to build a new VLGC/AC as we believe in the long-term fundamentals in the LPG market and the potential for ammonia transportation,” said Hadjipateras.
The company did not disclose any further details about the order multiple brokers saw at Hanwha Ocean for $125.5m, shortly after Greece’s Naftomar signed up for four 93,000 VLACs at the Okpo-based yard.
Dorian, which boasts a fleet of 25 gas carriers, including bareboat and time-chartered-in vessels, is understood to have an additional option for one 93,000 cu m sister ship.
This year opened with a series of LPG/ammonia carrier newbuilds booked at shipyards in South Korea, including Greece’s TMS Cardiff Gas and Alpha Gas as well as Qatar’s Nakilat, Norway’s Solvang and Turkey’s PascoGas. Japanese shipping giant NYK has also recently joined the rush with three newbuilds ordered at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
