The newbuilding market has quieted down during the past few weeks, with last week not proving an exception to the general trend. In its latest weekly report, Clarksons Hellas said that the newbuilding market remains very quiet, with the only business to report being that of four x 5,200dwt MPP Vessels to the Dutch based owner, Clients of MK Shipping, at the Bangladeshi Shipyard Western Marine. “That being said though there does still remain demand from the Owners in both the conventional and more specialised sectors.
As we have mentioned previously, it is demand on the newly developed "eco" type vessels in both Dry and Wet, with improved fuel consumption, that we feel will be the major key to tempting owners to invest in ordering fresh tonnage and it will be interesting to see, as we progress into next year just how much the Yards need to rely on these more specialist sectors to fill their dry dock capacity; or alternatively if they are prepared to compete on the more conventional sectors; and if this is the case, then how low will they consider offering to owners to tempt them to invest fresh capital and fresh orders in the current uncertain financial climate? Of course the Korean yards (the main beneficiaries of this specialised sector largesse!) have the joy of offering a far more diverse range of products to their Chinese counterparts and it has been this diversity that has enabled them to have a relatively successful year in 2011 and it will be interesting to see whether they are able to carry this success through into 2012” concluded Clarksons.
In a separate report, Piraeus-based shipbroker Golden Destiny stated that the past week ended with 23 transactions reported worldwide in the secondhand and demolition market, down by 14.8% from previous week and down by 17.8 % from a similar week in 2010, when 28 transactions had been reported and secondhand ship purchasing activity was 64% lower than the ordering business. Currently, the highest activity has been recorded in the newbuilding market with 21 orders reported in the offshore business, while the volume of second hand activity is 38% lower than the newbuidling business said Golden Destiny.
The shipbroker went on to mention that "while reaching the end of November, the ewbuilding activity seems to move on a quieter pace comparing on how the month started. Overall we had a 31% increase comparing to last week in the orders reported, with only the Special sector demonstrating its strength through the offshore business. Overall, the week closed with 21 fresh orders reported worldwide at a total deadweight of region 103,200 tons, while the activity is down by 58% from similar week’s closing in 2010, when 50 vessels had been reported worldwide at a total deadweight of 2,871,652 tons. Bulk carriers and tankers were the active sectors back then, with bulkcarriers holding a 60% and tankers a 20% of the total ordering activity. The total amount invested for newbuilding units is difficult to be estimated as 19 of the 21 orders were contracted in private terms, however the sixteen orders contracted by Hornbeck Offshore at US yards is valued at $ 720 mil" said in the report.
Meanwhile, in the demolition market, the slide in the price levels offered in the Indian subcontinent region persists with the Bangladesh ban on the import of ships for scrapping leaving limited opportunities for a prompt spike by the main demo countries. According to Golden Destiny, “the death of one more worker at a Prime Group scrap yard located in Sitakunda part of Chittagong, the 16th worker to have died at the scrap yards of the major shiprecycling nation since September 17th, does not alleviate the recent situation and adds further pressure for a Bangladeshi return in the demolition scene during December. The demolition activity in India and Pakistan is on the downside, while China is struggling to win some units at levels offered lower than $400/ldt. This week, one small asphalt tanker with 2,066ldt has been headed in North China at $384/ldt, M/T "BLACK JADE" with one more deal to follow from the same owners, M/T "BLACK PEARL" of 2,262 ldt on the conclusion of the first sale. The week ended with 10 vessels reported to have been headed to the scrap yards of total deadweight of just 377,425 tons. In terms of the reported number of transactions, the demolition activity has been marked with a 100% week-on-week increase and regarding the total deadweight sent for scrap there has been a 152, 37 % increase. In terms of scrap rates, the highest scrap rate has been achieved this week in the tanker sector by Pakistan for a tanker of 136,055 dwt “FRONT DELTA” with 23,190/ldt at $520/ldt. India attracted 50% and China followed with 30% of the total demolition activity. At a similar week in 2010, demolition activity was at same levels with the current levels, in terms of the reported number of transactions, 10 vessels had been reported for scrap of total deadweight 316,905 tons with scrapping activity in the tanker and general cargo being most popular” concluded Golden Destiny.