Newbuilding orders, which to many involved in the shipping industry, are the main reason of today's low freight rates and subsequent financial problems that most ship owners are faced with since the start of 2012, appear to have steadied themselves over the course of the past week. According to the latest weekly report from Clarkson Hellas, "enquiries continue across a variety of sectors, with Dry Bulk and Containers in particular continuing to generate interest. Despite this, ordering this week has not been focused in these sectors, with the highlight of the week being another VLCC Tanker order being placed in China, only the second order of its kind this year" Clarkson said.
It added that "the past few weeks have seen a number of earning announcements being released by the Shipyards and these give an interesting insight into the state of the market. Given the pattern of ordering over the past few 18 months and its shift away from the conventional sectors, the results are perhaps not too surprising. In Korea, yards such as Samsung have announced a healthy increase in earnings and revenue, which has been supported by the success of their offshore and LNG product mix. In contrast, results from the publicly listed groups in China and some of those in Japan have been less positive, with revenues showing a decline. With the historical focus of these yards being on the Dry Bulk and other conventional markets, this really does highlight the challenging environment faced by these yards in the current climate.
To contest this, the shipyards have worked hard on their offerings over the past 18 months, not only in the form of new efficient designs, which with the recent Scorpio announcement over the positive performance of their new MR newbuildings ‐ is certainly looking like a positive step, but also in broadening their product ranges to help mitigate against specific sector demand fluctuations. With the market likely to remain challenging in the short term, it will interesting to see how successful these measures will be" Clarkson concluded.
Meanwhile, in terms of the weeks reported business; In Tankers, Dalian Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO Dalian) are reported to have placed an order with GSI (to be constructed at the Guangzhou Longxue) for 3 firm VLCC Tankers of approx 300,000dwt, with options for a further 2 units. These vessels will deliver from 2015 onwards, specific pricing has not been disclosed, but as brokers believe pricing lies in the mid USD 80s Mill. In Dry, Fednav are reported to have placed an order at Universal Shipbuilding for 1 x 25,000dwt handysized ice breaking bulker. The Polar Class 4 vessel will be built at Universal’s Tsu shipyard with the reported delivery scheduled for End 2013. No pricing has been disclosed for this bespoke vessel" the report said.
Of course, the main "weapon" in the ship owners' hands is the scrapping of older carriers, which helps the market absorb the influx of new tonnage. During the past week, according to Lion Shipbrokers, " Bangladesh and Pakistan markets are paying firm levels of $380-$410 for bulkers, $390-$430 for tankers & $385-$420 for container vessels. India remains at same levels as last week paying $410-420 for bulkers, $425-$435 for tankers and $420-$430 for containers. China has firmed paying $330-$340 for bulkers, $345-$355 for tankers, $340-$350 for containers. Turkish market is improved paying $285-$295 for bulker, $300-$310 for tankers and $295-$300 for containers" it said.
Similarly, according to Athenian Shipbrokers' comment on demolition activity, "whether the softening of market sentiment during last week in India can be attributed to the Diwali holidays or simply to cash Buyers finally succumbing to the law of demand alternatives in the Sub Continent, albeit at slightly lower rates than the ones quoted during the ‘surge’ of last 2-3 weeks. Bangladesh is showing no signs of recovery, while China seems to have gained once more market confidence as local breakers persist in offering attractive prices for Far Eastern based tonnage.