Shipowners are being drawn back towards ordering conventionally powered newbuildings, driven by high prices, leading bankers believe.
Stephen Fewster, global head of ship finance at ING, and Christos Tsakonas, head of shipping at DNB, believe uncertainty over the future fuel of choice for the industry is less of a factor in deterring new contracts.
Fewster told the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum at Posidonia on Tuesday: “What I’m hearing increasingly from a number of clients is they are going to stick with conventional fuel.”
He explained, for example, that those opting for ammonia-ready ships may find out it is a waste of money if it does not turn out to be the fuel of the future.
“So, I think increasingly, people are looking more at sticking with the conventional view — which is not necessarily a view I would support by the way, because we do have to decarbonise,” Fewster said.
Tsakonas said he had believed owners were being held back from ordering by questions over new technology.
“But I think that is certainly a factor, but the perceived high prices seem to be the main factor that is holding them back,” he said.
Fewster said he felt asset values were also influencing activity in the secondhand market presently.
“Prices are perceived to be high,” he said. “Unless you can get a good long or medium-term charter and pay that vessel down in the next few years, it’s quite a brave decision to even go into the secondhand market right now.”
