DSME bags 649.5 bln-won order for 2 LNG carriers

SEOUL, July 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Monday it has won a 649.5 billion-won (US$495 million) order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Europe.

DSME, the world's No. 4 shipbuilder by order backlog, said it will construct the 174-cubic-meter LNG carriers in the Okpo shipyard on the south coast and deliver them to an undisclosed European shipper by November 2026.

The order came days after some 120 unionized subcontract workers ended their crippling 51-day strike at the shipyard over a wage hike and better working conditions.

A DSME official said there will be no difficulty attaining this year's order target, and that the shipyard will focus its efforts on obtaining orders for high value-added ships.

So far this year, DSME has clinched orders worth $6.43 billion, including for 20 LNG carriers and six container ships, already achieving 72.2 percent of its yearly order target of $8.9 billion.

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