Menos demanda, bajada de precios

Eso parece que está ocurriendo con la reducción de pedidos de nuevos metaneros, alguno seguro que aprovecha a construir...

FROTH COMES OFF PRICE FOR LNG NEWBUILDINGS

Prices for LNG carrier newbuildings are starting to slide as the slowdown in ordering begins to bite.

Off-the-shelf vessels have now slipped below the $190 million mark with one yard quoting around $189 million, brokers reported. Levels are expected to fall below $180 million by the turn of the year after reaching around $200 million at the height of the recent spate of orders.

Most of the latest LNG orders have been for delivery dates from 2015 onwards. However, at least one major South Korean shipbuilder is still offering end-2014 delivery slots for LNG ships and berth space is opening up beyond there, brokers reported.

Another compatriot yard is said to have slashed its prices in a bid to keep its LNG orderbook rolling. The crumbling prices follow a change in the pattern of LNG carrier ordering from speculative tonnage to projectorientated purchases.

During 2011 contracts for LNG carriers and offshore units helped sustain shipyards while orders for almost all other shipping sectors were practically
non-existent.

A huge surge followed the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan but the pace of LNG newbuildings began to slow towards the end of last year.

Clarksons SIN database records just 17 LNG newbuildings contracted since the start of this year compared to 50 during the whole of 2011. Almost all of 2012's orders have been from existing LNG players, suggesting they are either
assured charters for their ships or confident they can find employment.

Shipyard bosses do not expect LNG carrier orders to dry up completely in the next 12 months. Several shipping tenders are in the works for both new and upcoming projects such as Ichthys LNG. The likes of Korea Gas will need new tonnage to lift contracted volumes from the US while demand will be bolstered by fleet renewal plans at producerssuch as Nigeria LNG.

But this type of business has longer lead times and the vessels being sought are unlikely to soak up any of the 2015 berth spaces. Some big-name owners have also been reported making fresh enquiries with yards but it is difficult to gauge how much of a tyre-kicking exercise this might be, particularly with
prices waning.

Fuente: LNG Unlimited