SSG No 10 - Shipgaz

OlYMPIC SHIPPING
SHIPPING AND SHIP MANAGEMENT
Offshore support vessels have become a more important sector, today making out 47 per cent
of the order value.
FleeT, orDerS
AND groSS INCome
Total fleet orders gross freight
mill DWT mill DWT income
bn NoK*
1995 47.9 4.2 48.2
1996 46.6 5.1 52.1
1997 50.5 4.9 58.7
1998 52.4 4.9 58.6
1999 52.5 4.2 54.7
2000 50.1 4.3 69.2
2001 50.0 7.6 81.1
2002 48.7 3.7 74.1
2003 45.9 4.5 69.8
2004 43.2 4.5 75.8
2005 40.9 5.6 79.8
2006 37.1 5.2 77.5**
2007 40.0 6.8
2008 40.9 7.5
* From the National Budget,
shipping excl oil drilling
** Forecast
Source: Norwegian Shipowners’ Association
ued ambitious expansion programs in the
global ro-ro sector to bolster market position.
The same goes for LNG carriers and
the range of chemical, product and LPG
tankers. More conspicuous has been the
contracting of bulk carriers, not only by
Golden Ocean and Blystad but also by Belships
and Eitzen.
735 ships on order
A stronger feature last year was the readiness
to part with tonnage at high prices.
According to our own figures, 145 ships of
USD 3.94 billion were sold; roughly twice
the sale value of 2006.
Taking the contracting boom 2004–2007,
total new orders amount to 735 ships of
USD 37.7 billion, of which 47 per cent is
for offshore vessels. In addition, some 600
ships of USD 11.3 billion were acquired
second-hand.
How large is the commitment, in terms
of tonnage?
NorWegIAN FleeT DevelopmeNT 2003–2007, mIllIoN uSD
New orders Second-hand Sold
Cargo vessels offshore vessels Drilling rigs acquisitions abroad
2003 1,265 116 0 1,495 1,385
2004 4,120 1,800 510 1,518 1,397
2005 3,622 2,795 5,485 2,747 1,419
2006 6,629 5,500 6,769 4,586 2,100
2007 5,709 7,542 4,045 2,390 3,940
Source: SSG-Bergen
The NSA figures of 7.5 million DWT
appear on the modest side, no doubt
because car carriers and offshore vessels
do not range very high in deadweight tonnage.
Then there is the uncanny division
between what the NSA regards as “bona
fide” Norwegians and “other” Norwegians
(see separate article). According to our own
records, the total order book comes out as
follows:
By Norwegian-related owners (see separate
article), our records show a rather
higher volume than the NSA figures:
• Bona fide Norwegians – cargo vessels:
6,920,000 DWT
• Bona fide Norwegians – offshore vessels:
4,200,000 DWT
• Lease/purchase-option vessels:
1,080,000 DWT
• Other Norwegian owners:
7,700,000 DWT
Together, this brings the tonnage commitment
to 19.9 million DWT. Broken
down in categories, this equals 2.7 per cent
of the bulk tonnage on order and 3.5 per
cent of the tankers, but 10.1 per cent of
chemicals tankers, 9.2 per cent of gas carriers
and 13.3 per cent of the car carrier
capacity. This testifies what we all know,
that the Norwegians are strong in niches
but losing ground in the large bulk trades.
Whereas statistics show that all the
major maritime nations have had substantial
growth in tonnage, except for Norway
and the US.
Stagnation or growth?
According to the NSA figures, the Norwegian
fleet dwindled from 55.5 million DWT
in 1999 to 37.1 in 2006, or by 29.3 per cent,
when the trend turned. By January 2008 it
had recovered to 40.9 mill DWT.
The question is: Was this a genuine
decline, or a reflection of the changing
structure of the fleet? The departure of
VLCCs and large bulkers and a rising share
of expensive supply ships?
Definitely both. The number of vessels
kept up between 1999 and 2006 quite well,
despite sale of tonnage. But over time, from
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Åkerivägen 8, S-152 42 SÖDERTÄLJE, Sverige
Tel: 08-550 858 80, -550 858 81 | Fax: 08-550 809 71
E-mail: scancool.sales@swipnet.se
66 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • MAY 16, 2008