Page 65: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1986)

World Shipping And Shipbuilding

ID'

According to the Annual Report of Lloyd's Register of Shipping, events during 1985 offered little to the world's shipping and shipbuild- ing industries, and there were few indications of any real improve- ments in the foreseeable future.

The world merchant fleet de- clined last year to 416.3- million gt, bringing the total back to the level of 1980. This situation was brought about by the excess of tonnage scrapped (20-million gt) to that completed (18-million gt).

Laid-up tonnage decreased dur- ing 1985 to a level of 26.5-million gt.

More than half of that total com- prised ships less than 10 years old and was mostly tanker tonnage.

New orders reported during last year declined by about 17 percent compared with 1984, from 15.6-mil- lion gt to 13-million gt. This has reduced the current world order- book to 26-million gt, compared with the 30-million gt recorded at the same time a year earlier.

Gains And A Changing Fleet

During the past five years, the composition of the world fleet has changed dramatically, with tanker tonnage falling from 42 percent to 33 percent. In that period, the em- phasis has been on developing the world's dry cargo and specialized trading fleets. Bulk carrier tonnage has grown in this period from just over a quarter of the total world fleet to almost a third, while sub- stantial gains have occurred in the liquefied gas carrier and specialized containership fleets.

The age structure of the world fleet has also changed. In 1980 al- most 60 percent of the tonnage was less than 10 years old, compared with 45 percent of the current fleet—the result of early scrapping of very large tankers. The world tanker fleet reached a peak in the late 1970s and has been in a decline since then. In 1985, just over 40 per- cent was less than 10 years old, com- pared with almost 68 percent in 1980. On the other hand, bulk car- rier tonnage continues to expand, with almost half of the existing fleet less than 10 years old.

Tonnage delivered during 1985 included a number of interesting additions to the world fleet, includ- ing several cruise ships and big pas- senger ferries. With the purpose- built containership and vehicle car- rier now exceeding 50,000 gt, and craneships and other sophisticated types of ships exceeding 30,000 gt, the economy of scale concept is spreading rapidly into almost every type of commercial trading vessel.

This overcapacity, particularly in the containership sector, has had a further effect on already low freight rates and market conditions.

World Orderbook

An analysis of the orderbook at the end of 1985 shows that 48 per- cent of the tonnage on order is for ore carriers and other bulkers, 22 percent is for tankers, and nine per- cent for containerships. Few orders being placed now are for delivery beyond mid-87.

As the volume of tonnage in the shipbuilding orderbook shrinks, particularly in the shipyards of

Western Europe, the yards in the

Far East continue to secure the ma- jor share of the orders for new ships.

Japan again dominated the market by securing 50 percent of the new ship orders, followed by the Repub- (continued)

Source: Lloyd's Register of Shipping and

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News

Summary of Merchant Vessels, 100 Gross Tons and Over, Completed During 1977-1985 by Country Where Built

Country 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

Denmark 53 46 46 53 45 46 48 46 39

France 39 42 33 25 35 37 37 36 25

Germany (East) 51 55 56 50 54 52 55 58 59

Germany (West) 157 134 97 105 99 106 130 109 135

Italy 44 37 34 46 51 30 41 30 30

Japan 1,107 1,046 993 943 839 800 755 902 817

Netherlands 97 89 98 82 103 107 126 68 90

Norway 138 140 113 80 70 80 61 39 57

Poland 72 66 68 64 40 40 39 52 44

Spain 149 120 99 74 86 105 106 92 58

Sweden 40 36 32 27 33 25 24 13 20

United Kingdom 94 91 86 68 46 59 60 46 35

United States 129 151 182 205 223 204 159 73 66

Yugoslavia 19 19 29 23 17 23 15 21 36

Rest of the World 607 546 500 567 528 598 620 625 453

World Totals 2,796 2,618 2,466 2,412 2,269 2,312 2,276 2,210 1,964

Source: Lloyd's Register Annual Summary of Merchant Ships Completed During 1985

Fig 1 Annual orders and completions million gross tonnage 1972 '73 '74 '75 76 '77 '78 '79 01 '82 '83 84 '85

Tonnage laid up and broken up million gross tonnage

Gross tonnage ordered annually by principal type of ship [ | OTHER TYPES •I GENERAL CARGO & CONTAINERS

HI BULK CARRIERS •• OIL TANKERS 1979

BROKEN UP 1972 '73 '74 '75 '76 '77 '78 '79 '80 '81 '82 '83 '84 '85

June, 1986 65