TradeWinds: Big chunk of tanker orders unlikely to be delivered

20 January 2017: “Tanker supply cloud may have a potential silver lining, says US shipbroker Poten & Partners.” ” ‘Based on the delivery schedule of the current orderbook, deliveries of new tankers in 2017 will be at the highest level since 2009,’ says Poten & Partners.” “In contrast, Poten says scheduled aframax and LR2 deliveries this year, 9.4mdwt in total, are likely to fall well short of the record of 10.5mdwt seen in 2009.” “In the smaller product carrier segments, Poten says the orderbook for delivery in 2017 is more moderate, compared to earlier years.” “Poten says that while it is difficult to see how the market can absorb such a large orderbook without further pressure on tanker rates and prices, there may be some mitigating factors to consider.” “Poten says this is not surprising given that the orderbook data is more reliable, since VLCCs are mostly built at large, reputable yards and owners are typically well capitalized.” “Based on the historical variability of vessel deliveries and its apparent correlation with the freight market, Poten contends that 25-40% of the crude oil tanker orderbook and up to 50% of the product carriers scheduled for 2017 might not be delivered this year.” To read read full article, please click here.