Container ship newbuilds to upsize, bank survey shows

UniCredit Bank’s Hamburg based Global Shipping team presented interim results of its new “Maritime Trend Barometer” exclusively to SMM Daily News during a tour of SMM on Wednesday.

“Shipping companies hope to get a grip on rising operational costs in the container shipping industry by using larger, more slowly travelling ships,” said Joachim Flecks, director of Global Shipping at UniCredit Bank. According to shipping companies surveyed by UniCredit for its latest “Maritime Trend Barometer”, the likely consequence will be declining interest in small newbuilds, mainly in the 2,000- to 6,500- TEU range.
“Interestingly, those surveyed are certain that all container ship newbuilds will be designed only for substantially lower operational speeds than was the case just a few years ago,” Flecks said. UniCredit will present final, detailed results of the survey in the coming weeks.

Snap poll at SMM
Meanwhile, Flecks announced he would soon release results of the snap poll “Shipbuilding Trends 2012” that he is now conducting at SMM among international shipyards and supply companies of all sizes. ”Against the background of the changes in shipping in the last two years, and with consequent implications for the shipbuilding industry, UniCredit has created
another trend barometer,” Flecks said. “Its aim is to elicit the current feelings of the shipbuilding industry and publish the resulting information. The evaluation is done anonymously, and the main emphasis is on current market trends and expectations.” Located in Hamburg, the UniCredit Global Shipping team is part of the Corporate & Investment Banking division. With offices in Athens, Oslo and Singapore, it is a centre of competence for the domestic and international maritime industry. Its portfolio volume of about 1,000 ships makes UniCredit Bank AG one of the leading ship-financing banks at the moment.