Samsung to Build Nine Shuttle Tankers for $1,34 Billion

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has signed a contract to build nine Suezmax shuttle tankers for shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation.


The total value of the agreement is $1,34 billion. All vessels will be built by the end of 2028 and will be used to service Petrobras' large-scale oil and gas project in Brazil.

Shuttle tankers are used to transport crude oil from offshore production platforms to coastal terminals.


In the conditions of the Brazilian shelf, where the traditional pipeline system is ineffective, such vessels become a key link in the logistics infrastructure.

A special feature of these ships is the presence of a dynamic positioning system (DP), which allows the vessel to be accurately held in place near the platform even in strong waves and currents.

The vessels will be built to the Suezmax standard size – approximately 274 metres long and 48 metres wide, with a deadweight of approximately 150000 tonnes.

These characteristics will allow each tanker to transport up to 1 million barrels of oil per voyage, ensuring uninterrupted shipment of products from deep-water fields.

The contract with TEN involves a 15-year lease of the vessels for Transpetro, meaning that the fleet will not be a temporary solution but a long-term element of Petrobras’ strategy to increase production in Brazil’s offshore fields.

Tsakos Energy Navigation, headquartered in Athens, specializes in the transportation of oil, petroleum products and liquefied gas. The company operates over 70 vessels, including VLCC, Aframax, Panamax and Suezmax sizes.


Three similar tankers for TEN, ordered back in 2022, are already under construction at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyards. Their delivery is scheduled for 2025 and 2026, and the new nine ships will be a logical continuation of this cooperation.

The signing of such a large-scale contract highlights SHI's dominant position in the high-tech vessel segment, as well as the strong demand for shuttle tankers in the context of growing offshore oil production.

For South Korea, the deal will be one of the largest shipbuilding contracts of 2025, and for Brazil, it is an important step towards strengthening the national energy infrastructure.