Asyad Shipping awards $400m contract to Korean shipyard

Asyad Shipping, a subsidiary of Oman’s Asyad Group, has awarded a construction contract worth OMR150 million ($389 million) for three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean shipyard.

The VLCCs are expected to be delivered in 2028 and 2029, the company said in a statement to the Muscat stock exchange. 

Asyad Group is owned by the Oman Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, and was established as part of the country’s plan to become one of the world’s top integrated logistics service providers by 2040.

Each VLCC  will have a capacity of 300,000 deadweight tonnage and will be dual-fuel ready – operating on conventional marine fuel and ready for conversion to lower-carbon fuels in the future, the statement said.

In March 2025, Asyad Shipping raised OMR128 million through an initial public offering of a fifth of its shares on the local stock exchange.

The company has already placed an order for four VLCCs with Hanwha Ocean in June 2024 and is slated to start receiving the vessels between 2026 and 2027, according to the IPO prospectus.

Asyad Shipping operates a fleet of 89 vessels and serves more than 60 countries. It transports liquefied natural gas, crude oil and other products.

Shares of the shipping company closed at OMR0.195 on January 14, up 4.3 percent.

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