The peak of the summer season is bringing with it a low in newbuilding ordering activity, which is becoming more and more evident in the market. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “being in the peak of the summer period, the typical slow down in new ordering has now dominated the market. Nevertheless, it seems as though there have been a few interesting moves being made in terms of dry bulk units. Taking a more detailed look, and we can see that there have been several fresh orders placed in Chinese shipyards during last week, including an impressive contract for 4 Newcastlemaxes. The rest of the orders referred mainly to the Kamsarmax and Ultramax size segments. On the tanker front, there was still some activity to be seen despite nothing notable coming out of the freight market as of yet. Subdued activity was being seen in the rest of the main sectors, especially when compared to the relatively higher activity noted in the weeks prior (especially in the containership segment). At the same time, prices are still holding steady, seemingly unaffected by the much improved buying interest that has been seen these past couple of months. All in all, it looks as though things may well go ever more quiet over the next couple of weeks, though given the movements noted in the year thus far, we may well find our selves pleasantly surprised by a busier August then what we are typically accustomed to”.
In a separate weekly note, Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “in dry, Nantong Xiangyu have finalised an order with Doun Kisen for 2+2 Ultramax with delivery in 2020 – plus further Kamsarmax understood to be under discussion. Foremost Maritime extended their series of 85k dwt post-panamax at Oshima with the addition of two further vessels making a total series of four – the latest units for delivery in 2020 and 2021. Namura also received an order for a circa 84.7k dwt post-panamax bulk carrier from Seno Kisen (for MOL) with delivery due in 2020. One order to report in the tanker market, with Daehan receiving an order from Sinokor for 2+2 x 115,000dwt Aframax with delivery of the firm vessels due in 1H 2020. Similarly just one container order to report containers, with XT Shipping placing contracts for4+4 x 1,800 TEU feeders at Hyundai Mipo with the firm vessels for delivery in 2020. Samsung announced an order for 2+2 x 174,000CBM LNG carriers for delivery of both firm vessels within the final quarter of 2020, understood to be for clients of Cardiff Gas. In other sectors, Wuchang Shipbuilding announced an order from Louis-Dreyfus group for four firm 13,000dwt deck carriers for delivery from end 2019. Remontowa in Poland confirmed that Norled have contracted two firm 120 car / 300 pax passenger/car ferries with delivery at the end of 2019”.
Meanwhile, in the S&P market this week, Allied added that “on the dry bulk side, things were relatively slow this past week compared to the typical volumes that we have been used to seeing over the past 12 months. There was an impressive purchase being made by Sinokor for 4 enbloc modern Capes, while given the price levels these units fetched it looks as though there is still some positive momentum being seen in terms of pricing market. This isn’t much of a surprise given the levels freight rates have reached recently, while . Beyond this, it seems as though the recent shift in the regulation of imported ships into China has surely made its mark and we are likely to see buying focus shift ever more to more modern units. On the tanker side, things seemed to have stepped back slightly in terms of activity. This has mainly been due to the slightly softer buying interest being observed in the market right now, while this lack in competition amongst buyers has also been reflected in terms of price levels being observed”.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
