Greek operator Metrostar Management Corp (MMC) has ordered two plus one option 115,000-dwt LR2 tankers from Hyundai Vietnam, marking one of the very few tanker orders to be placed in 2022, says an article published in Riviera.
Higher newbuilding price index
The price for the coated Aframax-size product tankers, reported at almost US$57M each by BRL, seems reasonable considering the price inflation taking place in the newbuilding sector.
Clarkson Research Services (CRS) report its Newbuilding Price Index is now 25% higher than in November 2021 and has reached its highest point since 2009.
Not only is CRS reporting a new peak, the underlying acceleration is the sharpest rise since 2005.
But as the reported price for the MMC tankers shows, the tanker sector remains immune to the price rises – at least for the time being.
Rising raw materials and labour costs
CRS reports the popular (some might say overheating) orderbooks of container ships and gas carriers are the driving force, with demand for slots pushing available berths out to 2025.
The price increases in some of the sectors are far above that of rising raw materials and labour costs. CRS noted a 15,000-TEU container ship price is 47% up on those prices reported at the start of 2021.
Without new tankers, the solution for fleet renewal rests in the secondhand market which has seen 86 tankers change hands since the beginning of March 2022. In the VLCC sector, 14 vessels have changed hands, including four sold by Euronav to Sinokor.
Since then, Euronav has become part of a proposed combination with Frontline.
At the same time, a completely new generation of VLCCs is entering the fleet – how soon until one of these is added to the brokers’ for sale lists?
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Source: Riviera
