Zodiac Maritime has ordered its first conventional LNG carriers, a firm pair at Hanwha Ocean worth KRW680bn ($499.6m), shipbuilding sources told TradeWinds-sized peers in Seoul this week.

Hanwha disclosed the contract on Monday, describing the client only as an unidentified Africa-based shipowner. Industry sources identified London-based Zodiac, controlled by Eyal Ofer, as the party behind the deal, which is understood to carry options for two additional vessels. Deliveries of the firm ships run to November 2029.

The order marks a new segment for one of shipping's most diversified private owners and deepens a yard relationship that has expanded rapidly this year.

In May, Zodiac booked three firm very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) at Hanwha, with options that could lift the programme to five ships. Hanwha valued the firm portion at KRW507.4bn ($345m); industry sources put the full five-ship package at close to $575m, with deliveries stretching through January 2030.

Tanker build-out continues in parallel

The gas push sits alongside an aggressive crude tanker programme. Zodiac added four 158,000 dwt suezmaxes at Jiangsu New Hantong earlier this year, bringing its suezmax orderbook to nine ships, and continues to build a large VLCC programme at the same Chinese yard.

Counting vessels under construction, Splash has previously tallied around 80 tankers in service or on order across Zodiac's crude, product, gas and chemical carrier businesses.

The company has also been expanding into vehicle carriers and containerships, including two 7,000 ceu LNG dual-fuel PCTCs booked at Yantai CIMC Raffles for 2028 delivery.

What it means for the market

For Hanwha, the Zodiac contract lifts its 2026 commercial order intake to 41 vessels worth $7.71bn, spanning 18 VLCCs, eight LNG carriers and six containerships.

For charterers and operators in the LNG trade, the arrival of a well-capitalised, diversified owner adds a new counterparty at a time when carrier ordering is concentrated among established gas specialists.

For Hanwha, the repeat business from a single owner across ammonia carriers and now LNG carriers — more than $840m in firm contracts this year — signals a strategic account rather than one-off tonnage placement.

With options on both the LNG and VLAC programmes still open, Zodiac's gas exposure could yet grow before any of the newbuilds hit the water in late 2029 and 2030.