Dubai: Classification society DNV says it is classing 50% of ships under construction or or order in India and the Middle East, a figure representing 39% of the total tonnage of vessels currently operating in the region.
Driving the strong regional performance is DNV's hefty market share of the
regional offshore sector, which is 'exceptionally buoyant' due to high global demand for oil exploration and development, according to Dubai-based Eivind Grostad (pictured), DNV's Senior Vice President & Regional Manager for DNV Maritime. 'We have 125 offshore service vessels currently being built to DNV class, in 'local' shipyards such as Drydocks World, Seaspray and Nicocraft as well as Hindustan, Bhrati, Mazagon on the Subcontinent.'
According to Grostad, the orders emanated from owners all over the world, including the burgeoning number of OSV owners operating in the Gulf countries, such as ESNAARD, Irshad, Zami, Zakhair Marine, Valetine, Emdad, Al Mansoury, Abraag, KBM & KOC.
Besides the OSVs, DNV has received recent orders from local owners which include VLCCs for Vela International, chemical carriers for United Arab Chemical Company and bulk carriers for Shipping Co-operation of India.
Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company (ADNATCO) has also ordered several Aframax tankers of between 80,000 and 120,000dwt.
Limited vessel availability and high day rates has led to an unprecedented order book with over 600 offshore support vessels of various types globally. 'With oil trading at $130 a barrel and speculation that it will reach $150 before August, the OSV market is booming and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Indeed some market sources are predicting that the day rates, for such vessels could well remain at or near historically high levels through to 2015,' said Grostad.
'Shipyards in Middle East and India are not only winning more newbuilding orders, they are moving up in vessel size and complexity too, brought on mainly by strong market demand and the lack of capacity at Far Eastern yards,' commented Scott Jervis, DNV's newbuilding manager in Dubai. [05/06/08]
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