Newbuilding Ordering Activity Picks Up

Ship owners have returned to shipyards for new orders, as evidenced by the volume of ordering activity reported. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “this week saw continued interest in PCTC vessels, with four new orders being placed at Chinese shipyards and Grimaldi Group declaring the options for 5 vessels originally reported last year. News has almost spread of a unique sailing cargo ship with a budget, according to the Neoline press release, of over 60 million euros. Considering its capacity of just 1200 linear metres or 265 TEU, it is going to need to command a significant premium for its eco-friendly credentials. Having said that, investment in new technologies always comes at a price and it will be interesting to see if this approach can be scaled up and be made more efficient. MSC placed a large order for 10 container vessels, all LNG dualfueled as has been the case for almost all MSC container orders over 2022. According to market sources, the operator now has 66 container ships under construction in South Korea and China. It was also announced that MSC and Maersk will not renew their vessel-sharing alliance when the agreement ends in 2025. As the container vessel demand settles down after recovering from its recent supply chain issues, it will be interesting to see whether this heavy investment pays off”.

In a separate note, Banchero Costa said that it was an “interesting week with mixed and diversified orders across several different sectors. Drybulk saw an order of Mitsui for 2 x 82,000dwt at Tsuneishi Cebu with methanol DF configuration, expected for delivery end 2025 and early 2026; there is not price reported; Cargill is backing the contract with period charter. Turkish owners Yasa have signed 2 x 64,000 with Cosco Zhoushan for delivery in 1st half 2025 at price of 31mio each. On Tanker we registered an order of Golden Energy for 1+1 x 158,000dwt Suezmax at DH Shipbuilding for delivery in q4 2024, no price emerged.

Container we have MSC signing a large order for up to 10 x 11,400 teu at Zhoushan Changhong. The order span between 2025 and 2029 deliveries and price per ship is reported around 120 mln usd. Car Carrier is dominated by Grimaldi who optioned three to five more 9,000 CEU ammonia ready at Jinling for delivery in 2027 with a total orderbook at the yard of ten units. In the LPG domestic business was concluded between local owners Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Kawasaki HI for a 86,700 cu.m with dual fuel configuration ammonia ready, for delivery in 2026. Finally in the smaller mpp and coaster business, Bodewes signed a contract with Dutch owners for 2 x 7,000 freighters; no price disclosed but deliveries expected to be in 2025”, the shipbroker said.

Meanwhile, in the S&P Market, Allied commented that “last week, activity in the secondhand sales remained at similar levels, despite the Lunar Year festivities. The main shift came between the share of the dry bulk sector in the total number of transactions, when last week the number of bulkers changing hands doubled. An explanation for that could be the optimistic expectation and the anticipation for the dry bulk market to pivot and recover further within 2023. In the tanker sector things actually got worse, reflecting the downward trajectory of earnings as the market corrects itself. Similar to the last couple of weeks, the main focus amongst buyers is on the smaller segments of the product tankers, amidst the upcoming trade ban on Russian clean products. In terms of the age of the vessels changing hands, these averaged at almost 16 years of age, which is about 4 years older than previous weeks”.

Banchero Costa added that “only a few sales emerged for Dry Bulkers The Ocean Domina 76,200 dwt built 2005 Tsuneishi was committed, and apparently is still on subjects, at $10.6mln. The Navios Prosperity I 75,500 dwt built 2007 STX was reported sold at $14mln. The Aliki 180,200 dwt built 2005 Imabari was reported sold at $15.1mln. On tankers 3 VLCC units were reported sold: the Maran Aquarius 320,800 dwt built 2005 Daewoo (BWTS and scrubber fitted) was sold at mid/high $52smln, the Poros 318,000 dwt built 2008 SWS went to undisclosed at $66mln and the Arcadia V 299,000 dwt built 2000 Kawasaki at $40mln.

Quite an active week for Aframax with the sale of 4 units. The Aether 113,900 dwt built 2007 Daewoo was rumored sold at $37mln by Middle Eastern buyers, the vessel was reported to GMS back in August 2022 at $27.8mln. The Kythira Warrior 115,300 dwt built 2006 Sanoyas was reported sold at $38mln, the Kriti Galaxy and the Kriti Bastion built 2006 Mitsui and 2003 Hyundai were reported sold at $38 and $31mln respectively. Undisclosed Buyers took the MR Atlantica Breeze 46,200 dwt built 2007 Sungdong for a price around $20mln. The Stainless Steel tanker Bunga Lavender 19,997 dwt built 2010 Fukuoka was reported sold at $20mln”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide