With rapidly increased investment in MR tankers in the first half of 2012, in the excess of 60 newbuildings have been contracted in the world.
During the period, Korean shipbuilders have inked overall 46 MR tankers - STX booked a total of 26 orders (STX Offshore & Shipbuilding's Jinhae Shipyard won 16 vessels, STX Dalian 10), SPP Shipbuilding and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard contracted 12 vessels and eight each.
Including Brazil's greenfield yard OSX' 11 45,000-dwt product carriers ordered from Kingfish do Brasil Navegacao in March, Chinese shipyard GSI's six 50,000-dwt chemical tankers, etc., overall 63 newbuildings have been invested globally, which more than triples those invested in H1 2011 with around 17 vessels.
Meanwhile, according to recent report from Clarkson, global newbuilding orderbook of MR tankers ranging from 30,000 dwt to 59,000 dwt stands at around 150 vessels.
Some industrial players see that recent backlog has reached a dangerous level and insist owners control additional newbuilding investment.