Orderbooks for vessels has been skewed as of late, and the oddness of 2020 restricted orders for tankers and bulkers in particular.
Indicating this, data from the Clarkson Research Services shows that for the first time ever, the container ship orderbook has beaten out the tanker and bulker orderbooks in dwt.
The data showed that nearly 900 containerships of 7m teu has been ordered since the fourth quarter in 2020. It comes out to 76m dwt, setting a new record high. LNG carrier contracting has also grown to a new annual record, with Clarkson’s data counting 94 ships of 16m cu m.
On the flip side, in the last year tanker and bulker orders have declined. Tanker orderbooks are currently at their lowest point in 25 years, coming in at 35m dwt. The bulker orderbook is at an 18-year low of 69m dwt.
Tankers and bulkers combined make up 75% of the world fleet dwt. With the orderbooks at such low numbers right now, there could be significant implications for the shipping industry down the road.
