Hyundai Heavy Industries is being tipped in both Korean and Indian media circles as the winner of a very lucrative LNG ship order. Having looked at the merits of fellow Korean yards Daewoo and Samsung, energy giant GAIL is close to sealing a deal with Hyundai Heavy to build nine LNG carriers, giving the ailing yard a much needed $1.8bn fillip.
GAIL has signed a deal to take gas from the US on a 20-year contract starting in 2017.
GAIL had previously tendered for the ships, the stumbling block being that three of the nine had to be built on Indian soil. This part of the contract is now thought to have been waived as the ships are needed imminently.
For HHI, which suffered a dramatic loss in the first half this year, the order is a big win.