Near extinct, low oil puts old gas-guzzling reefer ships back in business
LOW oil prices have saved old time reefer ships from extinction, reveals Dynamor's exhaustive study on refrigerated cargo trends and development.
"Because of the sharp decline of oil and the associated bunker prices - via US$300 per ton at the start of 2015 to $130 twelve months later - many elderly, fuel-guzzling dedicated reefer vessels all of a sudden became competitive again," said Frans Waals author of the Dynamar study, "Reefer Analysis: Market Structure."
"As a first consequence, demolition fell back to just five units, of which three in the first half. This constitutes the lowest scrapping activity since 2007 (five as well) and is totally paled by the 65 units super scrapping of 2011," he said.
"Albeit temporarily, one fruit trader switched back from container to conventional. The number of reefer-heavy containerships serving the Southern Hemisphere perishable trades came down, even though slightly," Mr Waals said.
This translated in more than half of all conventional reefer vessels scrapped since the turn of the century with barely any ships ordered, along with increasing liner connections operated with reefer heavy containerships.
This caused the share of the conventional reefer segment falling back from 60 per cent in 2000 to an estimated 26 per cent in 2014, the study said.
The trend over recent years has been the refrigerated containers taking over from the conventional reefer ship. It was reckoned that conventional reefer capacity was to decline by 41 per cent to 120 million cubic feet by 2025.
"But last year showed an almost complete reversal of what reefer shipping had grown accustomed to: barely any scrapping along with a confirmed orderbook of 11 smaller, up to around 350,000 cubic feet, conventional reefer vessels plus four (perhaps six) full reefer 2,200 TEU containerships," he said.
Antwerp-based, but Dutch owned Seatrade is the largest conventional reefer ship operator: fifty-seven 526,000 cubic feet average ships. Maersk Line has 103,000 installed container plugs on its South/North routes.
LOW oil prices have saved old time reefer ships from extinction, reveals Dynamor's exhaustive study on refrigerated cargo trends and development.
"Because of the sharp decline of oil and the associated bunker prices - via US$300 per ton at the start of 2015 to $130 twelve months later - many elderly, fuel-guzzling dedicated reefer vessels all of a sudden became competitive again," said Frans Waals author of the Dynamar study, "Reefer Analysis: Market Structure."
"As a first consequence, demolition fell back to just five units, of which three in the first half. This constitutes the lowest scrapping activity since 2007 (five as well) and is totally paled by the 65 units super scrapping of 2011," he said.
"Albeit temporarily, one fruit trader switched back from container to conventional. The number of reefer-heavy containerships serving the Southern Hemisphere perishable trades came down, even though slightly," Mr Waals said.
This translated in more than half of all conventional reefer vessels scrapped since the turn of the century with barely any ships ordered, along with increasing liner connections operated with reefer heavy containerships.
This caused the share of the conventional reefer segment falling back from 60 per cent in 2000 to an estimated 26 per cent in 2014, the study said.
The trend over recent years has been the refrigerated containers taking over from the conventional reefer ship. It was reckoned that conventional reefer capacity was to decline by 41 per cent to 120 million cubic feet by 2025.
"But last year showed an almost complete reversal of what reefer shipping had grown accustomed to: barely any scrapping along with a confirmed orderbook of 11 smaller, up to around 350,000 cubic feet, conventional reefer vessels plus four (perhaps six) full reefer 2,200 TEU containerships," he said.
Antwerp-based, but Dutch owned Seatrade is the largest conventional reefer ship operator: fifty-seven 526,000 cubic feet average ships. Maersk Line has 103,000 installed container plugs on its South/North routes.