Leading names in the domestic and international shipping sector estimated that the renewal of the tanker fleet looks like a difficult task, mainly because of the extremely high costs and the charterers.
According to the conclusions of a webinar organized by Capital Link, a significant part of the global tanker fleet is of “advanced” age and although orders for newbuildings to replace them have increased, they are still not enough and the order book as a whole remains at low levels.
A prerequisite to offset the prices at the shipyards is, as the CEO of Tsakos Energy Navigation, Nikolas Tsakos pointed out, that the ships to be placed on order have secured long-term contracts in advance. This applies more specially for the more expensive ships with dual fuel engines.
According to shipping sources, dual-fuel technology increases the cost of building tankers of all sizes by 19%-22%.
The speakers estimated that the tanker market will remain on an upward trajectory for some time to come, driven by geopolitical developments, increased tonne-miles of the distances traveled by ships and the regulatory framework for the environment.
“We are very positive about the purchase, but we would have hoped it would be for different reasons,” pointed out the Vice President of Navios Maritime Partners, Ted C. Petrone.
As he explained, geopolitical developments are leading the market today.
