Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Shippers may cancel up to 15% of vessel orders
Tuesday, 07 July 2009
Shippers may cancel as much as 15 per cent of orders for new vessels and delay taking deliveries to cope with a lack of financing and a drop in demand amid the global recession, said. Cancellations may reduce orders for tankers by 5 per cent and orders for ships that carry dry bulk by as much as 15 per cent, the New York-based consultant said in an e-mailed report on Friday. Half of the order books aren't financed, it said. 'The worldwide recession has undoubtedly affected the tanker and dry-bulk markets, but it has not unleashed a demon,' said the energy consultant and adviser to international oil companies. 'Rumours have circulated that 20 per cent to 60 per cent of the global order book may be cancelled or delayed.'
There are 403 tankers on order in 2009 and 619 in 2010 and beyond, with very large crude carriers (VLCCs) comprising almost 22 per cent of the order book, Poten said. There were 153 deliveries this year including 45 VLCCs.
'The tanker order book is experiencing an imbalance in the ratio of deliveries-to-vessels left on order for this year,' Poten said. 'The carry-over of fourth quarter 2008 deliveries into the beginning of this year hints at what may lie on the horizon.'
Source: Bloomberg, Reuters
