Market sources reveal instances in which ships have been booked in for scheduled repairs in drydock. Once docked, their operators demand substantial discounts against the threat of only undertaking some of the contracted work scope. Repair yards have little option but to concede.
No-one is willing to talk on the record to discuss this latest development, but they claim it is evidence of the latest fall in business ethics resulting from tonnage oversupply and poor rates. It represents the latest in a series of blows for repair yards already struggling through a period of record deliveries, inadequate scrapping and slow payments by customers.
The situation could become even worse, sources believe, as hungry shipyards tempt owners into newbuilding deals at cheap prices. New designs are attractive because their fuel-efficiency could detract even from modern ships delivered a couple of years ago.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
