Orders for suezmax tanker newbuildings have reached 50 ships so far in 2023 with the prospect of more orders to come.
This is the highest number of orders placed in a single year in the past decade, narrowly beating the 48 ordered in 2015, according to figures compiled by Braemar.
The suezmax order backlog now stands at 63 vessels, or 11% of the existing fleet, according to the UK broker.
Greek shipowner Angelicoussis has ordered eight suezmax newbuildings so far this year, all at China’s New Times Shipbuilding, according to the broker.
Fellow Greek Evangelos Marinakis has ordered six suezmaxes this year via his Capital Marine arm also at New Times Shipbuilding.
The Chinese shipbuilder has also secured orders for four suezmaxes from Polembros Shipping this year and two from Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping.
Japan Marine United (JMU) has been another big winner from the rush for suezmax tanker newbuildings in 2023 with orders confirmed for 10 ships, according to Braemar.
Owners booking 150,000-dwt tankers at the yard include Advantage Tankers, Ionic Shipping and an unnamed owner that has booked six ships, according to the broker.
Earlier this week, TradeWinds reported that Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Marine has ordered two suezmaxes at JMU, but these are not included in the latest Braemar figures.
Other owners who have ordered suezmaxes this year include Euronav, which exercised options for two ships at Daehan Shipbuilding, to go along with two ships ordered at the same yard last year.
John Fredriksen’s Seatankers Management has ordered three suezmaxes at China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) so far in 2023.
Despite the surge in orders for suezmax newbuildings this year prices have only risen by around 6% since the start of 2023 to $85m per ship, according to Clarksons.
Changing trade patterns brought on by Russia’s invasion has been touted as one reason for the renewed interest in suezmax tanker newbuildings, according to a report by Simpson Spence Young (SSY) earlier this year.
Importers of Russian crude oil and refined products have had to source alternative supplies following the invasion with the shift largely benefitting suezmaxes and aframaxes as Europe’s crude oil requirements are fulfilled by Atlantic-based and Middle Eastern suppliers instead.
SSY said a lack of tanker ordering over recent years, as yards favoured gas carriers and containerships, had meant the suezmax orderbook as a percentage of the fleet stood at just 2% as of the start of 2023, a dramatic decline from 2009 when the number of vessels on the orderbook accounted for 46% of the fleet.
Concerns about the growing orderbook will be tempered by the fact that almost 40% of the current suezmax fleet is poised to hit 15 years of age or over, according to Braemar.
Around 161 ships, or 28% of the fleet, will be 15 years or over by the end of 2023, while a further 63 ships, or 10% of the fleet, will be 20 years or older by the end of the year.
