In Hellenic Shipping News 27/05/2015
It’s the nature of things in the shipping industry; when a market is sizzling hot, like the tanker segment has been these days, it’s only natural to draw even more investment. According to the latest shipbrokers’ reports, owners have been increasingly focusing on newbuilding tankers, in order to boost their fleets in the future. AaAllied Shipbroking puts it, “with the tanker market firing up for a another round of steep freight rate climbs, it is no surprise that a number of well placed buyers took up the opportunity these past weeks to book their new contracts for large VLs, Suezmaxes and Afras”.
Allied said that “this well timed action has also been met with very competitive prices especially as prices being quoted for new ordering of tankers have persisted at close to the levels noted since the start of 2015. some of the new contracts such as that of Pantheon seemed to have also taken the option of adding extras onto the units betting on better pricing now that the newbuilding market is at its most fiercely competitive state. At the same time we continue to see a string of order switches from Dry bulkers, with most of the ones surfacing this week switching onto the container scene which might have more to offer once the vessels are delivered. In any case the competitive environment has started to reflected on prices through-out the board with even the better performing segments showing a downward trend as shipbuilders make their best efforts to warm up buyers’ interest”, the shipbroker concluded.
In a separate weekly report, Clarkson Hellas said that there were “no new orders to report in either dry bulk or containers, with a continued focus on wet. In tankers, Hyundai Heavy Industries are reported to have won an order for two firm 300,000 DWT VLCC for Clients of Alpha Tankers & Freighters International. These vessels will deliver in 4Q 2016 from HHI’s Gunsan yard. HHI are reported to have also received an order from Clients of Sun Enterprises for a singular 72,400 DWT LR1 tanker for delivery in 4Q 2016. Clients of Sun Enterprises already have seven units of the same “Amazon” series currently trading in the water. Clients of Maran Tankers Management are reported to have extended their order at DSME by contracting two firm 156,000 DWT Suezmax tankers for delivery in 1H 2017, taking this Owners orderbook of Suezmax tankers at the yard to six. Unlike the four Suezmax tankers already on order at Daewoo Mangalia, this duo will be delivered from DSME’s Okpo yard in Korea. Reederei Nord are understood to have placed an order for two firm 115,000 DWT coated LR2 tankers at Samsung Heavy Industries. These two units will begin delivering in 1H 2017 from Geoje. From Japan, Sumitomo Heavy Industries have taken an order for two firm 112,000 DWT Aframax tankers from an unknown European owner for delivery in 1H 2018″, the shipbroker concluded.
Meanwhile, in the demolition market, Allied Shipbroking noted that “with the monsoon season now close on our heals, with expectations of the first seasonal rains to hit the coast early next week, prices being offered were holding on to their previous levels. This however could also be taken as an indication that we may well see some softening come early June, when appetite amongst buyers in the Indian Sub- Continent is expected to be subdued. At the same time the market as is at the moment is riding only on demand from the Indian Sub- Continent, making the whole market now more sensitive to the sea-sonality noted in that region. At the same time, there Dollar seems to be on the rise once again, something which might possibly lead to diffi-culties to uphold the current offered prices for scrap steel, as the local demand is linked to the trends of the respective local currencies. At the same time the paradox of high supply of demo candidates against high offered prices is likely to continue on through the year as demand for steel in the region has been on the rise and while cheep Chinese steel stocks are still finding it difficult to overcome some of the import boundaries set, breaker yards are more suitably set to cover these needs for now”, it concluded.
