VesselsValue Deals database indicated that Greek owners have placed 35 orders for new bulkers and tankers since the start of 2017, out of a total of 119 orders globally. The other countries following are US, Singapore, Norway and Netherlands.
VesselsValue also points out that the imbalance of supply and demand between the number vessels currently on the water and the amount of cargoes does not seem to improve in the near future as there is just under 66 million DWT of tankers and bulkers to be delivered during the rest of 2017, representing 47% of the current bulker and tanker order book.
In addition, over the last 5 years, a major source of finance & investment in the newbuilding market came from the private equity sector who invested heavily to capitalise in the post-crash market downturn. Today, the private equity sector shows a preference to invest in tonnage already delivered and on the water, so that an immediate return on their investment can be realised.
As this situation resulted in a lack of newbuilding finance available and in a gap in deliveries at the major shipyards, the cash rich Greek community took advantage to secure a number of orders at competitive prices, in early 2017.
As we progress through 2017, yard capacity has reduced but continued buying demand from the private sector remains. This is one of the major factors that has led to the increase in newbuilding prices over the past 5 months.
