Vessel operators are in a catch-22 situation where they must order vessels or fall behind their competitors, but they must also decide which fuel to use, reports Seatrade Maritime.
Gas Carriers & Skilled Labour
A senior executive of a major classification company said: “Many slots are being allocated to gas carriers, in a major order by Qatar, and these ships take twice as long in drydock than other ships.”
According to the source, even the opening of new yards will not relieve the pressure on shipyards because they do not have sufficient skilled labour to fill the positions.
“In Korea, there are 6,000 vacancies for welders,” said the source, “And they are paying welders a lot more money now, not because they are making so much money, but because they must keep the staff. Some yards are even holding on to staff qualifications so that they cannot leave,” they added.
Prolonged Drydock Times for Gas Carriers
Speaking off the record the executive said that while conventional vessels spend around 50-60 days in drydock, the time scale for the construction of Q-Max and other LNG carriers fitted with complex containment systems is double the time for other vessels, which effectively halves the capacity for a drydock, for the period of gas carrier construction. This in turn reduces yard capacity and adds to yard congestion and new building backlogs.
Without wanting to name operator names the source said that some liner operators had decided to aim for lower carbon fuels rather than operate on ‘transitional’ fuels such as LNG, however, they have had to change their strategy or risk falling behind their major competitors.
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Source: SeaTrade Maritime
