In the tanker sector, Simatech has declared options for a pair of 52,000 dwt MR tankers at Korean yard Hyundai Mipo. The units are due to be delivered in Q3 and Q4 2025 with Clarksons listing a price of $46.6m per unit.
Hyundai Mipo’s enormously popular 52,000 dwt tanker series has been snapped up a great deal in recent weeks. Japan’s Nissen Kaiun, for instance, signed for eight similar ships at the start of this month.
The latest MR deals also highlight how newbuild prices have leapt this decade. At the height of covid in late 2020, building a new MR at a Korean yard would cost around $32m, according to Braemar. Today it is $46.6m.
“Newbuilding prices are cyclical. But today’s high prices could be with us for a while. Even if 2024 MR freight rates settle at the levels suggested by today’s FFA market, we wouldn’t expect yard prices to drop much,” Braemar noted in a new tanker report.
