Rs Platou

Analysts: Demand for LNG Tankers Decreasing

Excess capacity in the global fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers will be at its highest this decade in 2008, as a growing worldwide fleet results in lower utilization rates, according to the Royal Gazette. Demand for LNG tankers has deteriorated markedly as a result of a large increase in fleet supply partly caused by speculative orders for new ships, industry analysts pointed out. Utilization of the LNG fleet will fall to 77.4 percent in 2008, almost 13 percentage points lower than at the beginning of the decade, data showed. Falling utilization hurts revenue for companies such as Oslo-based Bergesen Worldwide Gas ASA and Golar LNG Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda. Rising earnings for operating LNG tankers have encouraged some shipowners to order vessels without first having them assigned to particular projects. Improved productivity in the existing fleet has also added to the surplus capacity, analysts reported. The growth in the surplus is already slowing because supply disruptions from Indonesia are forcing Japan, the world's largest LNG importer, to source shipments from further away, tying up ships for longer periods. The global fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers will expand 16 percent by the first quarter of 2007, according to Oslo-based shipbrokers R.S. Platou a.s. (Source: Royal Gazette)

Crude Carries Pricing, Initial Public Offering

Crude Carriers Corp. announced that it has priced its initial public offering of 13,500,000 common shares at $19 per share. The underwriters have an option to purchase up to an additional 2,025,000 common shares to cover overallotments. Crude Carriers Corp. will use substantially all the proceeds from the offering, together with a $40m capital contribution from Crude Carriers Investments Corp., to acquire one 2006-built high specification Suezmax vessel from Capital Maritime & Trading

Shipping Lines Estimate Costs to Rise

Bloomberg reported that Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. and 11 of the largest shipping companies plying the Pacific Ocean said costs of moving cargo to the U.S. in 2006 will rise 7 percent on higher fuel prices, which may spur them to raise freight rates. The cost of transporting containers by trucks and railways will increase as much as 25 percent, the 12-line Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, whose members ship about 70 percent of trans-Pacific trade, said in a statement today.

Tanker Fleet Set to Surge

High rates have lured a significant number of tanker owners into forking out the relatively small costs associated with converting their ships from Category 1 to Category 2 vessels. Category 1 vessels are those of 20,000 dwt and above carrying crude, fuel, heavy or lubricating oils as cargo, and “pre Marpol” tankers of 30,000 dwt and more carrying other oils. Pre Marpol means ships that do not have protectively located segregated ballast tanks

Profitable Year for Shipbuilding Companies

Increased spending on offshore exploration & production (E&P) of oil and gas has increased order-book positions of Indian shipbuilders. ABG Shipyard has an order backlog of Rs 1,300 crore, while Bharati Shipyard has pending orders worth Rs 676 crore on its books. The jump in order books is getting reflected in stock prices of these companies as well. BSL has seen its market cap soar to almost Rs 900 crore from Rs 309 crore at the beginning of 2005

Dolphin Offshore Lines up Investments

Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) Ltd., an offshore construction and ship repair company for the oil and gas industry, has lined up investments worth Rs 1,000 crore over the next 5-6 years, a senior company official said. Dolphin has already invested $35m in the initial expansion plans like acquiring ships. Offshore construction being its main focus, Dolphin is looking at moving up the value chain with bigger contracts and would invest Rs 200 crore for expansion in this field.

Bharati, Apeejay Form Shipbuilding JV

Bharati Shipyard Ltd. and unlisted Apeejay Shipping Ltd. said they would invest Rs 2,000 crore in an equal joint venture to set up a modern shipbuilding yard along India’s eastern coast, according to a Reuters report. While Indian shipbuilders are expanding their capacities with buyouts of other yards and assets, Indian shipping and engineering firms are planning to set up shipbuilding yards to exploit the sector’s surging potential.

India: L&T Shipbuilding to Expand Building Capacity

According to a Sept. 26 report from the Press Trust of India and Business Standard, engineering major Larsen and Toubro’s (L&T) shipping arm L&T Shipbuilding has earmarked around Rs 1,500 crore to develop around 800 acres of land at Kadipully near Ennore in Chennai for expanding its vessel building capacity, a top company official said. The Kadipully project, to make vessels primarily for defense, would be developed in phases and the first phase will start by mid-2011

Nordic American Tanker Shipping Q4 Report

Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. ("NAT" or "the Company") announced today that the Company has declared a dividend of $0.25 per share for 4Q10, the same dividend as for 4Q09. The dividend policy will continue. The Company has a very strong balance sheet and we shall protect this position.   The Company will pay the dividend of $0.25 per share on or about March 4, 2011 to shareholders of record as of February 24, 2011

Shipbuilding Subsidy May be Revived

The ministry of shipping is considering reviving subsidy on shipbuilding to enable the industry to be globally competitive. Currently, ’s share of global shipbuilding orders stands a minuscule 1percent. The subsidy scheme had expired on August 14, 2007. T R Baalu, Union minister of shipping, road transport and highways, said the ministry is thinking of circulating a cabinet note on subsidy this week. The previous subsidy scheme provided a 30% incentive on the contract value of