Oslo-listed gas carrier owner Solvang ASA and partners have inked a contract with Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of two 78,700cbm Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) carriers.

The vessels will be Panamax VLGC vessels, with the feature of being able to transit both the new and old Panama canal, Solvang said in a stock exchange filing.

The new vessels are scheduled for delivery in Q2 and Q3 2017 respectively and will, upon delivery, enter 10 year timecharter contracts with an undisclosed oil major.

Solvang will be the managing owner of the newbuilds and the vessels will be placed into one of the existing shipowning companies where Solvang has 30% ownership.

The order follows delivery of the third and last of the three Large Gas Carriers (LGC) built at HHI in August. The first vessel from the batch was delivered on April 8, and the second vessel was delivered on June 1.

Solvang currently owns 50% of the existing global Panamax VLGC fleet.