DHT adds second Hanwha VLCC, extending renewal to 2029

DHT Holdings has ordered a second VLCC from South Korea's Hanwha Ocean for April 2029 delivery, lifting its active tanker newbuilding program to two vessels and pushing fleet renewal through 2029.

New York-listed DHT, led by Svein Moxnes Harfjeld, disclosed the November agreement in its third-quarter results but did not disclose the contract price. The latest order follows a June order at the same yard due in August 2028.

What has DHT added to its Hanwha order?

The new vessel will be a sistership to two Hanwha-built VLCCs that joined DHT's fleet earlier this year. It will also form a trio with the August 2028 newbuilding ordered in June. The June deal marked DHT's return to Hanwha after the owner completed an initial two-vessel program at the South Korean shipbuilder.

DHT has built the relationship around the Antelope Class design, which the owner says delivers better fuel efficiency, lower emissions and more cargo-carrying capacity. DHT provided no numerical gains for any of those measures, so the commercial benefit of the new series remains unquantified.

How much tanker capacity is DHT renewing?

DHT operated 23 VLCCs at the end of September, with combined carrying capacity of about 7.18 million dwt. Dividing the reported total by 23 gives roughly 312,000 dwt per operating vessel, an average that does not reveal individual ship differences.

If both scheduled newbuildings enter service and DHT makes no other fleet changes, the two additions would lift the vessel count from 23 to 25, an 8.7% increase. The August 2028 and April 2029 delivery dates place the additions beyond the end-September operating base rather than adding to the currently reported fleet.

What does the strong tanker market show?

DHT described the crude tanker market as strong. Its third-quarter average spot earnings reached $167,100 per day, while vessels on time charter earned $114,200 per day. The $52,900 daily difference between those averages shows the premium available from spot exposure during favorable market conditions.

Net profit rose to $270.9 million from $44.8 million in the corresponding period last year, an increase of $226.1 million and about six times the prior result. For shipowners, those figures show how quickly fleet income can move with market rates, but they do not establish what rates will prevail when the new vessels deliver.

For cargo shippers and freight forwarders, firm tanker earnings can create pressure for higher voyage costs if owners reprice charters. The source does not quantify freight-rate pass-through, however, and the $167,100 figure is DHT's vessel earning rather than a quoted crude or petroleum freight rate.

How much future income has DHT secured?

DHT has secured three-year charters for the 2015-built DHT Jaguar at $75,000 per day and the 2016-built DHT Panther at $100,000 per day. Those rates sit $92,100 and $67,100 below the company's $167,100 third-quarter spot average, respectively.

The discount reflects the trade-off between fixed revenue and exposure to a stronger spot market: the charters provide employment cover, but they would forgo the reported spot premium if comparable rates persist. The comparison is directional because the source gives no details on charter start dates, vessel operating costs or utilization beyond the headline earnings figures.

What has the announcement left unpriced?

The undisclosed ship price is the largest gap in the announcement. Without it, investors, charterers and lenders cannot test the order against DHT's $270.9 million quarterly profit, $114,200 daily time-charter average or the capital needed to complete two deliveries. The announcement also disclosed no financing plan or charter coverage for either newbuilding.

Nor did DHT quantify fuel savings, emissions reductions or the Antelope Class cargo advantage. Those omissions leave the order's operating economics exposed to future bunker costs, tanker rates and cargo demand, none of which the company forecast in the announcement.

Whether DHT can preserve its reported $167,100 spot economics while adding two ships for 2028 and 2029 will depend on rates at delivery; weaker markets would make third-quarter earnings a poor guide to fleet returns.