“Now is possibly one of the best chances for shipowners to order new ships. The bottom of newbuilding prices has been reached and prices have firmed by 3-5% since the last quarter of 2012,” said Ren Yuanlin, executive chairman of Yangzijiang.
However, Ren pointed out that there would not be a major upswing in prices, at least over the course of this year, but the market should not expect prices to go any lower.
In the dry bulk sector, for instance, with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) at below 1,000 points does not encourage substantial increase in newbuilding prices by shipyards as owners are already not generating any profits, he explained.
“Unless the BDI can hover around 1,500 points over a two- to three-month period, then I'd say newbuilding prices can simultaneously be raised to match improved market profitability,” he said.
Commenting on the commercial ship newbuilding market Korean shipbuilder SHI is seeing increased enquiry as owners look to take advantage of what may well be the low point for newbuilding prices..... to read the full story email [email protected] this week's issue.
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