Norway’s DNV has established a tanker and bulker expert team based in Shanghai.
The classification society sees strong demand for newbuildings in both segments.
“It is super important for us to be well positioned in these two segments,” Catrine Vestereng, director for the tanker segment, told TradeWinds.
“In both segments, the market is in a steep upswing, with increasing ton-mile demand.
“At the same time, the fleet is very old. So more tonnage is needed to keep up with the demand, while at the same time old ships must be replaced.”
To support the industry in the coming years, DNV has set up a dedicated team of tanker and bulker experts in China.
In 2023, Chinese yards took in nearly 60% of all newbuilding orders, with more than 70% of bulker and tanker orders, according to DNV.
Morten Lovstad, director for the bulker segment, told TradeWinds: “China is probably the country where they will be able to increase building capacity of bulk carriers and tankers the most, whereas both Japan and Korea have very limited spare capacity for adding such new orders right now.
“Therefore China will be even more important within tanker and bulker segments in the years to come.”
The team comprises 11 professionals, including ship type experts and senior approval engineers, covering the full range of maritime disciplines.
“With the DNV tanker and bulker expert team we are bringing together a group of experts who are at the cutting edge of tanker and bulker design, construction and operation,” said head of DNV Technical Centre China Oyvind Pettersen, who will lead the team.
“Our customers can be assured that we have a team standing by to tackle any of their unique challenges.”
DNV has a service network of 32 offices in 20 cities with more than 1,000 professional staff throughout Greater China.
The new team will work closely with DNV’s global network of tanker and bulker expert teams in Oslo and Busan, South Korea.
“We have the resources to help our clients with the newbuildings in China. It’s such a big share of the tanker and bulker newbuildings that will be built there,” Vestereng said.
