Global spending on new ships declines 88% in 2009

Posted by Seafarer

February 5, 2010

conteiner

Spending on new ships plunged 88 percent last year as the global recession sapped funding and charter rates retreated, Clarkson Research Services Ltd. said. Companies ordered vessels worth a combined $17.9 billion, down from $153.6 billion in 2008, the shipbroker said in a report on its Web site Thursday.

Freight rates for commodity carriers and oil tankers averaged at least 50 percent less last year as a drop in world trade curtailed demand for cargoes, according to data from the London-based Baltic Exchange. Bank lending to the shipping industry shrank as ship prices declined.

Brazilian companies ordered $3.1 billion of ships, making them the biggest spenders. Chinese firms spent $2.9 billion and Greek shipping lines $1.8 billion.

Source : Bloomberg

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