French orders to foreign shipyards

Perceptions
As mentioned, the consolidation moves concluded
everywhere should turn out to be positive and efficient
for everyone in the longer term, as long as not being
worked nor lived in the only sense of market control, but
in a larger global approach of a closer partnership with
a larger sized contractual party operating in wider fields
and geographical areas.
The successful results or reverse effects of those new
structures will in a large extent be affected on how the
appropriate market approach is extended.
1999 is more and more the turning point year between
a rough and disturbed time to a more balanced and
smoother situation.
Confidence which has been lacking during the past years
seems to have risen in most segments, whilst many countries
are showing growth expansion, increased demand and
better control of possible financial hiccups.
Even with temporarily limited production to regulate
price fluctuations and despite up and down variations
in some specific geographical areas, more tons of LPG,
ammonia and petrochemical gases will be available
in the years ahead. This should mean more transportation
requirements on newly developed routes.
The replacement scenario for aged ships which will have
to comply with more and more stringent maintenance
parameters and the newbuilding contracting pace
will be as usual a key element to the long awaited
equilibrium.
At the turn of this century, we cannot avoid to look back
in the early 1960's, when the LPG transportation industry
was in its infancy and when no more than two or three
ship operators were venturing virgin routes initiated by
approximately the same number of charterers. Both parties
had to play hand in hand in a very close partnership in
order to secure successful voyages!
One could wonder whether the more numerous number
of players acting in the past years would not have managed
to live on some kind of state of disorder and surplus tonnage,
and whether the present optimisation of logistics couldn't
mean a more genuine need for seaborne transportation?
Indeed, the volumes, geographical routes, types of products
and ship specifications can stand little comparison, but
what about the actors' approach to the market?
A sign for the future?
The second-hand LPG carrier market
• VLGC
Once again, Naftomar bought the only vessel available
on the market this year. It was the "Pine Queen", 70,000
cbm, built in 1974, and sold in July for about $6.1 million.
Depending of an observer’s viewpoint, the fate of "World
Sky", 75,000 cbm, built in 1971, was determined by a series
of propitious or unpropitious events that led to her obtaining
a price of around $8.15 million, based on a sellers’ credit.
The vessel took the place of "Mundogas Europe",
Maido,
4,359 cbm, blt
1999 by Severnav,
French-flagged
vessel in the
GasChem pool
on long-term t/c
to Total.
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