On the evening of February 25th, Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co., Ltd. announced that its subsidiary, Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) Co., Ltd., had recently signed and activated a contract for the construction of three 306,000-ton Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).
The announcement stated that the counterparty of the contract was a well-known European shipowner. According to the agreement between the shipowner and Hengli Shipbuilding and the relevant provisions of the regulations, the specific information of the shipowner was exempted from disclosure. The total contract value was between 300 and 400 million US dollars (approximately 20.65 to 27.54 billion yuan), and payment was to be made in US dollars.
For reference, according to Clarksons' data, the current price of a new 315,000 to 320,000 deadweight ton traditional fuel VLCC is about 128 million US dollars (approximately 8.84 billion yuan), remaining the same as last year.
VLCCs are the main ship type of Hengli Heavy Industry. The 306,000-ton VLCC independently developed by Hengli Heavy Industry features safety, greenness, comfort, and environmental protection, with all performance indicators reaching international advanced levels. According to Clarksons' data, Hengli Heavy Industry currently has a total of 65 VLCC orders in hand, far exceeding the second-ranked Hanwha Ocean of South Korea (30), making it the shipyard with the most VLCC orders in the world.
Up to now, Hengli Heavy Industry has delivered multiple VLCCs, all equipped with independently developed Hengli main engines, achieving full-chain autonomy and control from shipbuilding to core components. Including the latest orders, since 2026, Hengli Heavy Industry has successively received 67+4 new ship orders, including 38 VLCCs, 12 Suezmax crude oil carriers, 2 LR2 type product oil/ crude oil carriers, 7+2 bulk carriers, and 8+2 6,000 TEU container ships.
In 2025, Hengli Heavy Industry received 115 ship orders throughout the year, with an operating order value exceeding 100 billion yuan, averaging one new ship order every 3 days. It is understood that the predecessor of Hengli Heavy Industry, STX Dalian, was once the largest foreign-funded shipyard in China, with the largest single shipyard in northern China. In 2022, in response to the national call, Hengli Group established Hengli Heavy Industry Group, spending 2.11 billion yuan to acquire the idle assets of the former STX Dalian that had been idle for ten years, and is fully committed to building a world-class high-end shipbuilding base. In January 2023, the first phase of Hengli Heavy Industry's "Ocean Factory" achieved full operation in just 150 days, and the second phase project - the "Future Factory" - was put into production in just five months. In September this year, the Hengli Heavy Industry Cooperation Innovation and Offshore Technology Industrial Park started construction in Changxing Island, Dalian.
After all the Hengli Heavy Industry projects are fully operational, it can achieve the annual construction of 150 super-large ships, the production of 180 ship engines, including the G95 engine and below models, and achieve full coverage of four dual-fuel types: LNG, LPG, methanol, and ammonia, becoming the world's largest single-scale and most complete shipbuilding base. According to Clarksons' data, as of now, Hengli Heavy Industry has a total of 264 ship orders in hand, totaling 46.16 million deadweight tons, including 108 oil tankers, 96 bulk carriers, 56 container ships, and 4 LPG carriers, with delivery schedules extending to 2030.