Singapore: Ships heading into layup continue to spiral, according to the boss of one of the leading layup specialists.
“There is presently a growing demand for layup berths and services as a result of the very depressed state across all the freight markets,” Gavin Kramer, managing director of International Shipcare, told SeaShip News.
International Shipcare noted a particular pick up in its business in the third quarter led by boxships and bulkers of various sizes.
The company now has more than 30 ships in cold layup at its anchorage in Labuan, East Malaysia.
“The level of enquiry has also been increasing steadily since the start of the year and is now across all sectors of the market,” Kramer said, adding: “It therefore appears that laying up is being more seriously considered as an option by many owners as an effective means of lowering the cost of their operations.”
With cold layups International Shipcare can reduce operating costs on ships to around $1,300 a day including fuel. This compares with hot layup where fuel costs alone represent some $2,000 to $3,000 per day plus then there are the ongoing crew and insurance costs, returns for which are not available in a hot layup mode.
Kramer revealed that recently his company has been able to have ships reactivated in less than one week in some cases to go straight into trade, including undertaking hull cleaning and propeller polishing. [19/10/12]
