NSB attributes DSME cancellation to steel costs

Seoul: German ship manager NSB Niederelbe has pooh-poohed rumours of financial woes, insisting that the decision to cancel a $610m containership order with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering was taken based on high steel costs. The announcement is an attempt to quell market speculation about the company following a stock exchange filing by DSME that the order, for eight 4,250teu vessels, had been withdrawn due to "a European ship owner failing to make a down payment".

The cancellation is said to be mutually agreeable, with DSME replacing the container vessel slots with orders for eight Kamsarmax bulk carriers, worth an estimated $500m, due for delivery to NSB in 2010, according to Steel Guru.  [10/09/08]