At an unprecedented scale, 5.5 mill. DWT o[ds_preview]f crude oil tanker capacity has already been delivered in 2017. This represents a 220% increase from January 2016. The crude oil tanker market faces headwind for the current year already.
According to preliminary data from VesselsValue, January 2017 already accounts for 22% of the crude oil tankers previous year’s total deliveries. In comparison to the totals of 2015 and 2014, this 2017 figure amounts to 48% and 51%, respectively. January 2016, in terms of crude oil tanker deliveries of 2.5 mill. DWT, hit record levels in relation to the previous two years. However, that level has been dwarfed by the tremendous amount of deliveries in January 2017, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) commented.
Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, says: »This record-high crude oil tanker delivery growth is troubling, and worsens the balance between supply and demand instantly, due to sluggish demolition in this segment. From January 2014 until January 2017, demolition amounts to only 8 mill. DWT, which represents an astonishingly small proportion of 2.2% of the current crude oil tanker fleet. This development in January highlights the fact that the crude oil tanker market faces headwind for the current year already.«
Highest monthly number of delivered VLCCs ever
According to the industry organisation the lion’s share of January deliveries was taken by twelve VLCC deliveries (preliminary figure), which totals 3.68 mill. DWT and represents 67% of the month’s total. To put this into perspective: over 2016, 2015 and 2014 in total– 14.4 mill. DWT, 6.25 mill. DWT and 7.6 mill. DWT respectively of VLCCs were delivered.
Additionally, 943.000 DWT suezmax and 903.500 DWT aframax vessels were delivered. Resulting in an extraordinary delivery growth of 629% and 161%, respectively, in comparison to January 2016.
