Edith Maersk, a 13,500 TEU containership, image: Maersk Line
In their Q1 report, Maersk Line reported a 9 percent decline in freight rates along with a 31 percent increase in bunker rates. This added up to a billion dollar negative change in profit year on year. Singapore-based NOL Group reported similar data with a quarter billion dollar loss in Q1 2012. You might think ship owners and banks might be extraordinarily cautious about pushing ahead with new orders for container ships, but you would be incorrect in thinking that.
Hyundai Heavy Industries announced today a seemingly ridiculous USD $1.2 billion newbuild order for ten 13,800 TEU containerships for a Greek ship owner. Once built, these ships will then be chartered out to Evergreen Marine.
Measuring 368 m in length, 51 m in width, and 29.9 m in depth, these ships are scheduled to be delivered from the second half of 2013 to the second half of 2014 and will use 10% less fuel compared to existing similar class containerships.
Perhaps the following graph might help explain the rationale behind this. These big containerships would most definitely be used on long-haul voyages such as between Europe and China and there’s been a rather meteoric resurgence in 40-foot container freight rates lately on the Asia-Europe trade route.
Since LNG carriers, Drillships and semi-submersible drilling rigs have been the bright spot of the global shipbuilding market recently, Hyundai Heavy’s winning of this order was likely an unexpected and welcome surprise. An official at Hyundai Heavy said, “These orders are noteworthy considering the current sluggish shipbuilding market. With the extensive know-how and technology we have accumulated by building more than 500 containerships over the last 40 years, we will continue to build ships tailored to the needs of our clients and the market.”
SINGAPORE, April 24 (Reuters) – Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power ships will rise this year on attractive prices, while more dual-fuel vessels join the global fleet, industry executives said....
ROME (Reuters) – An Italian judge on Friday cleared three migrant sea rescue charities that had been accused of abetting irregular immigration in complicity with human traffickers, throwing out a case opened...
(Bloomberg) — The closure of one of the East Coast’s busiest ports after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge has so far not led to broad price increases,...
April 19, 2024
Total Views: 2193
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.