Report puts global shipping industry financing needs at $1.4trn in 10yrs

To grow investment in the acquisition of new shipping fleet among ship owners, new investments are needed to keep up with the upcoming global fleet renovation drive and market growth, said an expert report.

According to Clarksons data, the cost of financing the shipping industry over the next decade (2014-2023) could be around $1.4 trillion, a massive step-up from the 1990s.

“But the business has changed dramatically since the early 1990s when it was mostly about tankers, bulk carriers and containerships. In the coming decade only half the investment (about $760 billion) is to finance the replacement and expansion of these core fleets,” said Martin Stopford, president, Clarkson Research.

According to Clarksons estimate, two market segments are likely to generate a lot of value-added over the coming decade, those being LNG tankers and cruise ships. Together they account for about 20 percent of the projected investment, according to Stopford.

“The other big segment of potential investment for the shipyards is offshore. In the early 1990s that was, like the proverbial dodo, an extinct entity, with little business on offer. But the relentless pressure on energy supplies, both oil and gas, and the focus on mobile facilities, suggests this might account for as much as 30 percent of future shipyard investment,” added Stopford.