Tanker Operator: Easy on the newbuildings

11 May 2018: “Poten & Partners has joined the growing band of shipping analysts and others questioning the wisdom of the relatively high ordering rate thus far this year, which has continued up to the beginning of May.”

“In the face of rising Canadian pipeline imports, seaborne US crude imports from the Middle East have declined disproportionately. Increased crude exports from the US Gulf have mitigated this development to a certain extent, but not entirely, Poten & Partners explained.”

“Poten & Partners said that there were a number of reasons why ordering has continued, the main ones being growth, fleet replacement and asset play.”

“Obviously, the problem arises if too many owners have the same idea at the same time and the expected market improvements don’t materialise. We may not be at this stage yet, Poten & Partners said, but the ingredients are there, as many owners are positive about the market’s medium term outlook and many of them have enough resources to make a down payment on one or more newbuildings.”

“Adding to this scenario, the arrival of some investment funds looking for a home, due to the low newbuilding prices is troublesome. This is not what we want just now, Poten & Partners warned.”

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