Shipyards

Prices spike as near full repair yards scrub up

Ship repair yards across the world are working at near full capacity according to brokers Intermodal with their normal work being boosted by scrubber and ballast water equipment installations. This has had a knock-on effect on pricing for routine maintenance issues. 
Writing in the latest weekly report from Intermodal, ship repair broker Vassilis Vassiliou noted that almost all the shipyards worldwide are close to their maximum capacity.
“It goes without saying that this is mainly due to the already prescribed scrubber retrofit demand, while the peak of these deliveries from most of the scrubber manufacturers is starting this May onwards,” Vassiliou pointed out. 
Of concern for owners, the Intermodal broker warned some shipyards have committed to accept more scrubber retrofits than they can actually accommodate, which will most probably result in delays. As a counter measure to withstand the overbooking, certain shipyards have leased floating cranes and extra manpower.
“[P]ricing levels for routine drydocks have become much less attractive compared to six months ago, while first class shipyards are not interested in small projects despite the price benefit. This has given a lot of space for second class shipyards to penetrate to new clientele,” Vassiliou concluded.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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