Euronav has shrugged off an early 2019 flurry of VLCC orders as nothing out of the ordinary.
Last week saw Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering win six VLCCs worth $550m for Sinokor and Oman Shipping.
Pressed on the apparent resurgence in ordering of big tankers after a quiet second half to last year, chief executive Paddy Rodgers said the early 2019 activity was “not abnormal”.
“It’s normally a good time of the year as those packages get put together to kick off the new budget the shipyards have,” Rodgers said.
“They will normally have been given an astronomical sales figure to achieve, so normally there is a little bit of a rush as they do their first tour.”
In 2018, a total of 40 VLCCs were ordered, down from 54 in 2017, according to Banchero Costa.
While order numbers have fallen, prices have climbed in the past 12 months.
“Since Euronav announced our merger with Gener8 newbuilding prices have risen by 13.5%, fully vindicating our counter-cyclical investment,” Rodgers said.
He believes most in the tanker market have now placed its IMO 2020 bets, however, he suggested some would still be attracted to VLCC newbuildings at present values.
While steel prices have climbed, Rodgers noted the slump seen in the stock market was a “huge problem”.
“One of the things we would really exhort all of the people who consider themselves sophisticated investors or analysts is to say, ‘there is a huge amount of noise'," Rodgers said.
"'This is where you are meant to earn your stripes by listening through the noise to the signals’,” Rodgers said on the call.
