18th
Just how low can the container index go, and is ordering more ships sensible?
Just how low can the container index go, and is ordering more ships sensible? HONG KONG, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering <042660.KS> has won a $2 billion order from A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS <MAERSKb.CO> to build 10 container ships, and is in talks for another 10 ships, worth $4 billion in total, a source close to the deal said on Friday. “The deal has been signed and they are preparing for details ahead of a public announcement expected next week,” said the source, who declined to be named as the deal is not publicly announced. Both Daewoo and Maersk declined to comment. Daewoo, the world’s No.2 shipbuilder, has received the order to build a 18,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units)-sized carrier, the largest ever container ship, for the Danish company, the owner of the world’s largest container shipping firm Maersk Line. Maersk Line’s North Asia chief, Tim Smith, plans to hold a news conference on Monday in Hong Kong over its business plans in Asia. (Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
To be honest, I knew something was up, having been invited to attend a presentation on ‘The Future of Shipping’ to be given on Monday by Eivind Kolding, CEO Maersk Line (Denmark) and Nam Sang Tae, President, CEO and Director Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (S.Korea) but, following a slide this week across all the major four routes, there doesn’t appear to be much upside in the short term and so, yes, I think I was a little surprised at the size of this order.
In terms of market numbers, GFI tell us that:
SCFI slipped -30.86 to 1060.47 (-2.8%) Europe fell -59 to 1246 (-4.5%) Med fell -37 to 1167 (-3.1%) US West Coast fell -65 to 1835 (-3.4%) US East Coast fell -68 to 3056 (-2.2%) Meanwhile, Clarksons tweeted (18 Feb) : All of which makes for depressing reading… So… Let’s see what the bosses at Maersk and Daewoo have to tell us on the future of shipping on Monday.
