Hengli Heavy Industry has entered the field of gas ship construction with its parent placing an order for four very large ammonia carriers (VLACs). No price has been revealed for the order.

Hengli Group， which acquired STX Dalian more than two years ago and rebranded it into Hengli Heavy Industry， has lined up more than $1bn to expand the yard and boost its annual shipbuilding capacity to 7.1m tons， more than twice its current output.

While the yard has predominantly focused on kamsarmax bulk carriers since its revival，it has since expanded its order mix to include aframaxes and VLCCs， as well as series of boxships for Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).

STX Dalian was one of the largest shipyards in the world in terms of area space when it was founded in 2006. It went bankrupt in 2014 due to a financial crisis at its parent in South Korea leaving over 20，000 employees out of work.