Singapore’s number one shipyard, Seatrium, has secured a favoured customer contract with Angelicoussis Group, Greece’s largest shipowner.
The two-year contract with a one-year renewal option includes the refit of 10 to 15 vessels per year comprising LNG carriers, tankers and bulk carriers.
Seatrium and Angelicoussis already have a strong relationship, having delivered over 70 retrofits since 2012.
Big owners around the world have been flexing their financial muscle in recent months, carving out space at ship repair yards aware of the tight capacity going forward with demand for retrofits expected to soar in the coming years to meet recently enacted global green shipping targets.
Class society ABS reckons current global repair yard capacity is expected to meet demand through 2027, however demand for retrofits will continue to increase through 2035, which will require additional repair yard capacity to support fuel conversions.
There are around 1,250 active shipyards and ship repair yards. Despite this apparent surplus of potential capacity, the pool of yards capable of carrying out fuel retrofits is significantly smaller. Turnkey fuel retrofits are complex projects, requiring capabilities that are not available at all yards. Due to these requirements, ABS estimates that only a small number of shipyards can undertake fuel retrofits.
