A strategic consultancy with a focus on the ‘Chemical tanker’ market has released its annual report ranking the top operators in chemical and parcel, which is characterised as a “game of thrones” market scenario, reports tanker shipping.
Top operators
Singapore-based ShipsFocus Intelligence said this year’s top three tanker operators by deadweight tonnage (DWT) had not changed from 2017.
“Stolt Nielsen, Odfjell and MOL Chemical Tankers retain their respective pole positions in 2018 as the World’s top three chemical and parcel tanker operators,” the group’s report said.
Ship operations
With 111 vessels, Norway’s Stolt Nielsen operates a combined tonnage of just under 2.8M DWT. However, one of the top three has new building plans that are likely to push it ahead of its competitors by 2020.
“Odfjell looks set to overtake Stolt to lead the pack when vessels under its orderbook get delivered within the next 24 months,” the report said.
Norway-based Odfjell operates a combined tonnage of 2.67M DWT, with 88 vessels currently in operation. And, in spite of Odfjell’s significant expansion plans – 24% in ship number and 28% in tonnage – ShipsFocus said the chemical and parcel fleet as a whole underwent fewer expansions, with the majority of operators adding to their fleets by way of acquiring existing vessels or vessels on other operators’ order books.
“In grappling between expanding market share (possibly lowering margin) and improving profit margin by leaving a particular market, often carriers opt for the former with their optimistic nature. This, in itself, has helped maintain a competitive environment in the marketplace at large for charterers and shipbrokers.”
Capacity of operators
ShipsFocus labels Stolt and Odjfell as the “Kings in Parcels”, citing average segregations per ship of almost 30, as compared to an industry average of 18. And it revealed the pair of operators that own a majority of the oldest vessels in the fleet, with 14 over 23 years of age, as well as the youngest, carrying 62% of all vessels under 20 years of age.
In comparison, one of the youngest fleet of ships belongs to UK-based Navig8, whose “aggressive newbuilding programme” has resulted in an average vessel age of 4.6 years among its 75 ships, less than half the fleetwide average of 10 years. Navig8 are also the top chemical-only tanker operator with nearly 2.36M DWTin its fleet.
Fifth-place operator Fairfield (FCC-Allied), based in the US, has a number of vessels on order and is likely to threaten China’s Sinochem, currently in fourth position, as newbuildings are delivered in the coming year. Singapore’s Womar, in sixth-place, grew significantly in 2017.
The report focused on 97 operators with 1,451 vessels supplying the market with over 26M DWT, only considering operators whose trade includes chemical cargoes and vegetable oils while excluding vessels and operators who are involved solely in domestic or coastal trades, in dedicated trades and vessels considered as charterer-controlled tonnage not open for other charterers.
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Source: Tanker Shipping
