Ship Investment Activity Slows Down on Summer Lull
In a separate note, shipbroker Intermodal said that “newbuilding ordering activity has been quiet during the first week of August, with a total number of four orders, all placed at Chinese shipyards. On the container front, CMA-CGM’s order of 6×15,000teu units has monopolized interest, as it is the second container operator, after AP Moller-Maersk, that has opted for methanol-powered vessels over LNG. The vessels will cost $175.0m each, they will be delivered within 2025, and they have been assigned for construction to the state-owned DSIC, which is rumored to have offered the most competitive price and delivery window to the owner.
Moving on, NYK struck a deal for 1×86,700cbm LPG with KHI, lifting its order tally to a total of 4 vessels. The vessel will be LPG dual-fuelled, and it is designed to carry ammonia and LPG simultaneously. Delivery is expected within 2025, while it is rumored to cost approx. $90.0m. Conclusively, China’s TMS has returned to Jiangan Shipyard for the construction of 1+1×99,000cbm dual-fuelled VLEC, lifting its order tally to 3 VLECs at the particular shipyard. The vessel will cost $13.0m and will be delivered in 2025”.
Meanwhile, in the S&P Market, Allied said that “on the dry bulk side, things moved on a relatively good momentum for yet another week, given the firm number of units changing hands. This though, can be seen as a mere reflection of a strong en bloc sale noted in the Handysize segment. Thinking about the current volatile freight market regime, coupled with the fact that we are right in the midst of the summer period, this trend of late came slightly as surprise. All-in-all, a lot will depend on how things will progress from the side of earnings, so as to see whether we are about to witness a more fervent SnP in the near term. On the tanker side, it was another interesting week, given the fair volume of transactions taking place. Moreover, as we continue seeing an improvement in terms of both freight returns and overall sentiment, that will appear more attuned with the current inflated asset prices at the same time, we will most probably converge towards a more robust SnP market for the remaining part of the year”, the shipbroker concluded.
Intermodal added that “the tanker SnP market saw softer activity compared to the week prior. On the dry bulk SnP front, activity was considerably weaker, with the long list due mainly to the LD enbloc fleet sale; indeed, with the exception of the respective deal, only two dry bulk deals took place concerning Turkish buyers.
In the tanker sector, we had the sale of the “MARAN ANDROMEDA” (320,472dwt-blt ‘05, S. Korea), which was sold to Singapore buyers, for a price in the region of $37.0m. On the dry bulker side sector, we had the sale of the “NATHAN BRANDON” (56,489dwt-blt ‘13, China), which was sold to Turkish buyers, for a price in the region of mid-high $18.0m”.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide