French orders to foreign shipyards

In contrast, most Chinese shipyards were in a very different
situation, since some of them had no new orders for over
twelve months. In Japan and Korea, shipyards, specialised
in the construction of certain types of vessels, were already
offering delivery dates for early 2001.
Early 1999 prices for Handymax bulkers neared $17 million,
Panamax prices hovered at the $18 million mark and
Capesize prices fell to around $31 million.
Psychological thresholds were reached in the tanker market,
1.25
1.2
1.15
1.1
1.05
1
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
US$
Nb of vessels
796,059
544,450
Chemical carriers
(dwt)
Specialised vessel contracting 1998-1999 (up to December 15, 1999)
877,565
144,050
LPG carriers
(cbm)
824,500
LNG carriers
(cbm)
4,802,000
1,364,740
Reefer ships
(cu ft)
188,800
275,974
Ro-ro vessels
(dwt)
Average exchange rates with US$1
157,740
with prices for VLCCs at $65 million, Suezmax hitting
$40 million and Aframax at $30 million. Prices for refined
product carriers in the 45,000 and 35,000-dwt range drop
below the $26 million and $22 million range respectively.
Shipyards which accepted these low prices, consider the
situation as exceptional and as a one-time phenomenon.
But, as it has been observed before, this creates a precedent
in the market and it becomes difficult for others to resist
the trend, especially since owners are not willing to pay
more because of weakness in freight volumes.
29,980
Car carriers
(cars)
1998
up to 15/12/99
1,178,300
1,930,018
Cruise vessels
(grt)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Yen 100
Won 1000
Euro 1
T h e s h i p b u i l d i n g m a r k e t
S H I P P I N G A N D S H I P B U I L D I N G M A R K E T S 2 0 0 0
9