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Shipbuilding market outlook for H2 2023

The first half of 2023 has defied expectations for major shipbuilders with owners continuing to pile on newbuilding orders for containerships and LNG carriers.

Marcus Hand, Editor

July 28, 2023

In the fourth part of our shipping market outlook series we are focusing on the outlook for the shipbuilding sector in the second half of 2023 with Maritime Strategies International (MSI) Managing Director Adam Kent.

You can listen to the full interview as a podcast in the player above

Has the slide in newbuilding orders seen in 2022 continued into this year?

“It very much depends on what quarter you put under the microscope for this year, we look at Q1 2023 recorded the most contracts that we've seen in the single quarter since Q2 2022. The growth there or the volumes there were the age of favourites container ships and LNG, there seems to be an insatiable appetite for ordering large container ships and LNG and that certainly started the year off,” Kent tells the Seatrade Maritime Podcast.

“In Q2 of this year, we did see a reduction in ordering volumes for many sectors,” he says. This was not the case for LNG vessels but there were fewer orders for containerships. However, he adds, “But that's not to say that we expect the containership contracting binge to stop.”

Are dormant shipyards being reactivated to meet demand?

“This is an interesting point and, it's one that we've been banging the drum on for the last 10 years since we saw the mothballing of a lot of shipyards. We've always said that when the when the time is right when ordering volumes increase when prices go up, we expect to see a lot of shipyard capacity, come back online,” Kent says.

“We've recorded around 10 yards, we think that have come back online over the course of the last year in some shape or form.”

What is the newbuilding ordering outlook like for the second half of 2023?

“We're actually forecasting some significant volumes containerships be ordered in the second half of the year, most of these will be dual fuel,” Kent says.

MSI also expects tanker orders to continue to increase compared to recent history. The analyst is also seeing the first signs of offshore vessels being ordered after a prolonged drought, something Kent says they are watching closely.

Listen to the full interview in the app of your choice

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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