Singapore: 74% of respondents to a poll carried by Maritime CEO agree with a statement from the chairman of BW Group that shipyard overcapacity is now a permanent fixture of shipping.
Andreas Sohmen-Pao said last month at the Sea Asia conference in Singapore: “I think we have to imagine a world where there is excess shipbuilding capacity forever… so any sector that does well for five minutes will struggle… so there is no corner to hide.”
Just under three-quarters of voters in Maritime CEO’s survey agreed.
The question is one of nine topical issues raised in the poll which is due to close in one week.
“Shipyards have become very much more productive (a point often missed), and they have political influence which other parts of the industry lack,” one respondent noted, while another commented: “As long as state-owned yards in China continue to be subsidised then there will excess capacity from yards that are ‘ring fenced’ from market forces.”
Results of the survey, dubbed MarPoll, will be announced in the June issue of Maritime CEO magazine, which will be distributed at Nor-Shipping. Voting is easy – and comments are also welcomed. It takes two minutes and there is no registration. Click here to take the survey.
