Greek owners are set to keep ordering the lion’s share of new tankers as fleet renewal needs mount.
That is the view of French shipbroker BRS Group, which has logged 105 ships contracted by Greeks out of a tanker newbuilding slate of 333 vessels.
More than half of these orders have been placed in 2023. Tanker newbuilding contracts are up 150% so far year-on-year, the Paris shop said.
Greek owners are responsible for 59 of 135 contracts this year, with Japanese owners coming second with 31 orders.
Product tankers have proved most popular as owners renew fleets: 33 LR2s, six MR2s and two LR1s have been ordered, against 15 suezmaxes and two aframaxes.
Pantheon Tankers, Chemnav Shipmanagement, Dynacom, Angelicoussis Group and Evalend Shipping are among the names heading to yards.
“We attribute the continued interest in product tanker ordering to the confidence that structurally higher ton-miles in the oil products market are here to stay and that this will support product tanker earnings for a significant period,” BRS said.
While Greek tanker orders are placed primarily on the back of market expectations with a focus on the spot market, fleet renewal requirements are also behind the increased interest seen recently, the company argued.
And BRS points out the Greek clean tanker fleet is older than the country's crude vessels.
Now seems to be the perfect time to put pen to paper too.
Cashing in on higher secondhand prices
“Owners appear to be taking advantage of the surge in their cash flows due to record realised earnings plus the surge in secondhand asset values, on which Greek shipowners cashed in successfully by selling vintage units at record high prices, amid increased demand for Russian-related trades,” the French broker said.
The Greek crude fleet is 10.4 years old on average, with product carriers at 12.5 years.
“While we view MR orders as mainstream considering the established trade these are involved in, orders in other sizes might be of a more strategic nature offering flexibility; the oldest part of the Greek fleet is weighed towards LR1s and coated suezmaxes, with LR2s coming third,” BRS added.
The Paris shop believes a switch to LR2 newbuildings offers greater flexibility to take advantage of both crude and product markets, considering that peaks in these markets do not always arrive concurrently.
Ever-tighter environmental regulations are also playing a part.
BRS assesses that at least 240 ships in the Greek fleet will have to be renewed to bring the average age substantially below the current global average.
“Accordingly, the Greek tanker orderbook has the potential to triple from today’s levels,” the broker said.
