"I think the jury is still out on these mega vessels," said Ocean Network Express (ONE) global ceo Jeremy Nixon, adding that it is not just about the lower slot costs that these big ships will theoretically be able to achieve.
He pointed out that for example, these vessels are having to spend longer at port and make higher steaming speeds to catch up on their schedules because of this.
"Productivity in the ports is just not keeping up", he said, pointing out that the vessels are already 10% longer than a 14,000 teu vessel and also have a 35% larger capacity, and thus productivity at the terminals really has to rise to make it work
"Personally I'm not convinced about the big ships; I don't believe that's the way forward from a ONE standpoint. We will have some 20,000 teu vessels but it's horses for courses, you put them in respective trades, but they're not a universal type product that you can just clip in to your other trade lanes and until we can get the port productivity sorted out, the barging, feedering and all the landside connections to work very smoothly all you're doing is putting pressure back on the land side," Nixon concluded.
Pointing out the inexorable financial reality of the market however was ICBC Financial Leasing shippinged Bill Guo. Giving an intimate look at the machinations of shipping finance, he related how on a recent trip to Geneva, he was told face-to-face that MSC would not be ordering new megaships and yet two days later the very same company announced newbuilding orders.
"The price is so low and attractive and the financial terms so good that no one can refuse. Whoever has the best financial leverage will of course take advantage," he pointed out realistically.
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