Optimism prevails in shipping industry in 2018: Moore Stephens
Moore Stephens, an accountant and shipper adviser, expects optimism to outweigh pessimism in the shipping industry during 2018.
In its latest newsletter for the shipping industry, 'Bottom Line,' Moore Stephens partner Richard Greiner wrote: "Overall industry confidence hit a three-year high in 2017. Oil prices reached a three-year peak while there was a 50 per cent rise in the Baltic Dry Index over a six-month period in the second half of 2017."
Mr Stephens highlighted that finance was available from within and outside the industry. Some sanity returned to the newbuilding orderbooks and charterers in particular displayed an appetite for new investment, reported London's Tanker Operator.
"In 2018, freight rates will harden if there is a further reduction in tonnage overcapacity and an acceleration in ship demolition. Money will still be available for the right investment. Shipping will continue to be impacted by geopolitical uncertainty, which could be influenced in either a positive or negative way by elections in Brazil, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, Russia and elsewhere.
"US interest rates will most likely go up over the coming 12 months and the implications of new accounting standards will start to bite. Smart technology will assume increasing importance, adding value and improving safety but putting pressure on R&D budgets," said Mr Stephens.
Doubts will persist over the sufficiency of low-sulphur fuel, and gas will become an increasingly attractive option for powering new and converted tonnage as the price of oil recovers, he added.
Record deliveries of ultra-large containership in 2018: Alphaliner
Ten ultra-large containerships (ULCs) newbuildings will be joining the global fleet of boxships this month paving the way for record deliveries of ULSc in 2018.
The vessels to be delivered in January comprise seven megamax vessels in the 19,000-21,000 TEU range as well as three other ULCs with capacities from 14,000 TEU and over.
"The month will set the stage for the rest of 2018, with a record number of ULCs in the size range from 14,000 to 21,000 TEU planned for delivery this year," analyst Alphaliner said in its weekly newsletter.
The record deliveries in 2018 come despite moves by some owners to defer deliveries. Alphaliner said Cosco had pushed back 10 ULCs it was due to receive in 2018, while Yang Ming had delayed three 14,000 teu ships until 2019, Seatrade Maritime News of Colchester, UK reported.
Even with the delivery delays in total some 1.5 million TEU is expected to hit the water in 2018 with over 50 per cent of that capacity coming from ULCs.
"Most of this capacity is scheduled for delivery in the first half of the year, with over 1.2 million TEU due before the end of June. These capacity additions, together with a slower rate of container ship scrapping, will put further capacity pressure on the market," the report warned.
As a whole the global containership fleet is expected to grow by 5.6 per cent this year to 22.28 million TEU
Ocean Alliance's ULVC capacity to be boosted by 60pc in 2018: SeaIntel
The Ocean Alliance, comprising Cosco, CMA CGM, Evergreen and OOCL, is making major investments in ultra-large containerships (ULVC), unlike its competitors - the 2M and THE Alliances - that are pursuing strategies of stable development, using ULCVs to augment existing services.
According to a report from SeaIntel, Ocean Alliance's ULCV capacity is expected to grow by 60 per cent in 2018. The move is also likely to shake up the alliance's network and the group's members will see their fleets undergo radical change. That means that "if they wish to optimise their changing fleet portfolio," the carriers "need to rethink the fundamental structure of their current network."
The alliance recently unveiled its 2018 service offerings. The schedule showed Ocean Alliance offerings going from the current 41 east-west services with 331 ships and 3.35 million TEU to 42 services with 340 vessels and 3.6 million TEU, the Global Trade Magazine of Newport Beach, California, reported.
The Ocean Alliance collectively will still have the largest number of transpacific services, with 20 between Asia and the west and east coasts of North America, including nine to Southern California ports, four to the Pacific northwest, and seven to the US east coast.
The group will also operate six Asia-North Europe services, five Asia-Mediterranean services, five Asia-Middle East, two Asia-Red Sea, and four transatlantic services.
The transatlantic TAE2 is the new service, which, the alliance says, will offer improved transit times on a port rotation of Southampton, Le Havre, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, New York and returning to Southampton.
But SeaIntel expects some serious changes to Ocean services with the influx of the new ULCVs. "We will see Ocean Alliance potentially change the network more drastically," said the report, "offering new products and network structures, driven by the rapid delivery of large vessels."
(Source:HKSG-GROUP)
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