"With more than 1.7m teu expected to be delivered in 2013, the ratio is set to fall to approximately 16% by the end of the year. During the six year ordering boom between 2003 and 2008, in the region of 10m teu of containership capacity was ordered. The order book ratio peaked at approximately 60% in 2007, when in excess of 3m teu was ordered,"Â said Jonathan Roach, container market analyst at Braemar Seascope.
"In the five years since the global financial crisis, vessel ordering has declined; from 2009 to 2013, we estimate that just 4m teu will be added to the order book," he went on.Â
Whilst the ratio is a significant fall from the 60% high in 2007, the newbuilding market is still alive with 80 container ships ordered so far this year totalling 580,000 teu, more than double the 580,000 teu ordered in the same period of 2012, according to the broker.
Attractive pricing at shipyards and the drive for fuel efficiency in the face of high bunker costs have helped keep orders rolling in, despite sluggish growth in demand for services and spare capacity on many box routes.
"Even though ship finance has become more difficult to secure since the 2008 banking crisis, new orders have increased in 2013 and the new building market certainly has not collapsed – rather new building activity is ticking over with selective and niche container ship ordering," added Roach.
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