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15 September 2025 - Year XXIX
Independent journal on economy and transport policy
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FORUM of Shipping
and Logistics

 



Shipping and Shipbuilding Markets in 2002

I N D E X




The Liquefied Natural Gas Shipping Market
 in 2002

 

The fleet
New developments
Ship prices
The projects
U.S. market
Other developments
Summary
 

2002 ended more or less as it ended in 2001 with a major U.S. energy player in difficult financial circumstances. The previous year closed with the demise of Enron and El Paso would appear to be repeating the show this year, although with nowhere near the same implications. Last year in this report we mentioned 'd'j' vu' with reference to El Paso, who have now chartered-in five new Daewoo ships from Exmar / MOL. However, we were not to know how far our 'd'j' vu' statement would
stretch, as El Paso have again fallen foul to a general malaise within the energy companies in the U.S.. Their U.S. gas pipeline operations may survive, but it looks increasingly as if they may fall out of LNG again.

Apart from the now familiar U.S. energy company problems, Williams, CMS. Reliance' the LNG market in 2002 has seen both a shortage of cargoes and ships. Whilst most activity over recent years has focused on the U.S. market absorbing all of the surplus available cargoes recent Asian activity has seen the balance shift back eastwards. The Japanese demand increased in the last quarter due to nuclear safety concerns causing the shutdown of 7 Tepco nuclear plants. Korean winter demand also saw a market request for up to a further 36 cargoes. These two events led to all of the producers trying to increase their output to meet this demand from their traditional customers.

Unfortunately, this Tepco demand coincided with some plant shutdowns at Das Island alongwith some turbine problems on the Abu Dhabi fleet that was restricting schedules. Cargoes previously sold on a short term basis to European buyers were then re-directed towards the east where higher prices were achieved. Most recently we have even seen cargoes sold from Algeria to Kogas: Sigtto's LNG Log for 2002 should prove interesting reading!

And if the LNG shipping market was not tight enough, a U.S. submarine decided to raise its periscope into the double-bottom of the 'Norman Lady' necessitating her withdrawal from service for repairs.
  

The Fleet

In 2002, the LNG fleet has increased to 137, and by the end of the year there was an additional 56 ships on order!

Small:

capacities from 18,000 to 50,000 cbm

Total: 16

Medium:

capacities 51,000 to 100,000 cbm

Total: 15

Large:

capacities above 100,000 cbm

Total: 106

Vessel size has been slow to increase but 2002 did see the market considering the use of large 200,000 cbm ships for the longer haul dedicated routes that are planned. Depending upon how the shipyards price these new large units there could be transportation costs savings in the region of 10-15 %.

Membrane technology continues to lead the orderbooks with 64 % of the vessels on order featuring the GTT membrane. A new type of membrane system was added to the GTT portfolio when Gaz de France ordered the first CS1 vessel. The CS1 offers increased cargo capacity without increasing the external dimensions of the ship.


The breakdown on the fleet in terms of containment sytem is:

In addition there are a further 56 ships on order, or some 40 % increase, a truly remarkable statistic!
 

The spate of speculative orders that prevailed in 2000 does not seem to be repeated with all new orders being placed against firm contracts. What does seem to be changing however is the duration of the charters. Two of the Snohvit charters that were confirmed earlier this year have 12 and 8-year commitments and the recent GdF tender has asked for a possible 12-year charter period. This reduction from the typical 20 year charter would suggest a reflection in matching the charter period to that of the sales contract and/or careful attention by charterers to their balance sheets.

The age of the LNG fleet is also causing concern to some LNG members especially in the light of the major pollution incidents involving old tankers : notably the 'Erika' and the 'Prestige'. Both of these ships were carrying fuel oil cargoes, fuel typically used in power generation, and synergies with the LNG market should not be ignored. Fuel oil is a competing fuel to the emerging gas-fired power generators and fuel oil is one of the elements in most LNG pricing formulae. Any change in the circumstances surrounding the fuel oil cost will impact on LNG pricing, but phasing out of old fuel oil carriers may see a similar phase out of old LNG carriers, despite the industry's excellent safety record.

It should not be forgotten that all LNG carriers today use fuel oil as bunkers to supplement the boil-off gas in powering the vessels. So whilst the LNG cargo is eco-friendly the bunker fuel is not. The risk of pollution still exists on the LNG vessels, not necessarily from marine accidents (collision with tugs for example) but during the more routine operation of bunkering from barges in what are typically sensitive areas.

The oldest LNG ships is the 'Cinderella', built 1964, that was initially sold for scrap but somehow escaped some 14 years ago, and the 'Hoegh Galleon', built 1974, was also sold for scrap but re-emerged with a new life after the tanks were repaired, are two examples of aged vessels that are lucky to still trade LNG today. However, these two vessels trade extensively into Spain, a country that is currently closely looking at the age of tonnage in its territorial waters.
 

Product tanker - Kersaint

Fernando Tapias 
140 500 m3, livr' en 2002 par Daewoo, propri't' de Tapias F. Naviera.

New Developments

Gaz de France broke the traditional mould in 2002 when the first diesel-electric propulsion ship was ordered from Chantiers de l'Atlantique. This 74,000 cbm vessel is due for delivery in end 2004. However, not only was a new propulsion system selected, a new type of membrane containment system will also be used. This CS1 system, a hybrid of the two existing membrane technologies GT96 and TGZIII, offers significant cost savings for the builder and optimises cargo capacity for the owner / charterer.

In light of the diesel-electric order there has been a surge in interest expressed in what is alternative propulsion to the steam turbines. This is partly due to the change in the LNG trade, where the emergence of a spot market demands the maximum amount of cargo is delivered to the customer (not usually the case in the traditional annual delivery concept) but also the recent troubles associated with gearboxes on some recently built turbine ships.

Gas turbine manufacturers have also turned their attention to LNG in the wake of a downturn in aircraft orders. Once thought extremely expensive it would now appear that market conditions have seen a more sensible approach to pricing.
 

Ship Prices

top

Whilst LNG newbuilding prices had generally been on the increase, but nowhere near the previous highs, the competitive market would seem to have returned with yards, especially the Korean shipyards, seeking new LNG orders. There are at present two tenders for new tonnage on the market and it will be interesting to see at what level the bids are set.

The graph shows the trend of pricing, with a comparison to VLCC prices, over recent years.



The yards are in general seeking orders for all shipping and those that specialise in LNG also build other types of ships. However, those orders are also drying up but a knee-jerk reaction in the aftermath of the 'Prestige' could see this change. A recently reported price war between two Korean yards seeking to secure an order for containerships could see this translate into the LNG market. There are already rumours of prices falling to the level set some three years ago when the Spanish orders were placed.

Will the E.U. relaxation on yard subsidies increase price competition? Will inventive tax incentives continue within Europe? If the answers to these questions are yes, then ships prices will remain low for the foreseeable future.
 

The projects
  • New Projects

The Norwegian project, Snohvit, finally received the final go ahead but not without opposition. Between the EU Council in Brussels and the environmentalists in Norway the pressure was very much against the project. However, in the end common sense prevailed and the project was eventually given the 'green light' in June. Some of the project partners were also instrumental in changing the future of LNG when TotalFinaElf and GdF elected to take their equity gas as fob cargoes using their own ships.

Angola did not make the progress anticipated, but although no progress was made in 2002 there should be some good news by the end of 2003. There has been a recent development in the Angola LNG project that may see an advance in the start-up date. Whilst the project was restructured earlier in the year with a new partnership agreement following the end of the civil war (which enabled a change in site location at least) and the Chevron / Texaco merger, that resulted in some slip in the original schedule, the Angolan government is taking a stand. They have slowed the pace of approvals for deep-water oil projects to synchronise with a 2007 launch of the LNG project, which could be interpreted as no LNG, no oil ! The real concern in Angola is the reduction of gas flaring which at present stands at about 85 % of its gas, and any increase in oil production would naturally increase the flaring. Political sensitivities could also be influential where the United-States are looking for diversification away from the dependency on the Middle East and thus investment in the African continent may be a necessity of Washington rather than the oil companies.

There is continued discussions on Iran LNG from the South Pars field, but given continued threat of hostilities in that region there will be continued uncertainty on this project. Furthermore investment in 'green field sites' is always the most difficult aspect of a project when the long-term buyers are no longer there. The main competition for Iran is the existing LNG operations in Qatar which appear to have the ability to expand at very short notice. The infrastructure at Ras Laffan will always give Qatar a commercial lead against a new project that will be stretched for capital investment.

The same problems exist in Yemen as for Iran, except that the threat of terrorism is more real in that region. LNG projects require huge investment and financial institutions will always assess the risk to their investment, always choosing the least risk. Thus allocating funds to Qatar or Oman expansions, for example, is always easier than start-up projects in sensitive political arenas.

Egypt is finally realising the ambition of being an important LNG player with the final agreement for its second LNG project. GdF signed an agreement to purchase the entire output from the first train of the BG led consortium and now BG is actively pushing for expansion of the second train, which is now expected in early 2006.

There is however greater emphasis on African projects, apart from Angola and Nigeria LNG, as the USA seeks non-Arab sourced hydrocarbons. There is at least one more Nigerian project at the planning stage and another in Equatorial Guinea. Both of these projects will be seeking the 'Americas' market.

  • Expansion Projects

The main activity in the increase in LNG production capacity involves expansion schemes in existing LNG plants. We have seen Nigeria LNG, Atlantic LNG, Qatargas and RasGas, Australia LNG and MLNG all develop expansion schemes.

Financing is always the key to a successful project and that typically requires firm long term contracts from gas buyers. Unfortunately, some of the new gas buyers are not in a position to guarantee their off-take quantities, Dabhol and Petronet in India being prime examples, and so new projects seeking similar markets struggle to attract finance, unlike those existing plants who already have significant cash flows.

 

U.S. Market

The US market remains the biggest potential target for future LNG growth. Domestic supply of gas is diminishing whilst long term demand, from the power sector, continues to grow. With only four existing terminals there is a finite capacity of about 16 million tonnes with a further 12.3 million tonnes expansion planned, and all on the East coast.

There are several projects for new terminals in the Baha peninsula of Mexico plus two for the Gulf of Mexico but now there is the likelihood of a new terminal in northern California, a concept many thought impossible not long ago. The regional demand is highest in California but the slim prospect of siting a terminal there caused the rush for the Baha peninsula. However, it now seems that reality has beaten off unjustified fear and the move is on to build a Californian terminal. We should know more on this by the end of 2003.

The Bahamas is another favoured location to site a receiving terminal, Tractebel having bought the old Enron site in the West, with El Paso holding onto its proposed site, in the East, for the moment. The advantage of the Bahamas is the proximity to the Florida market.

Despite new security measures having been introduced to the Boston harbour where Tractebel's Everett terminal is located, LNG is expected to continue to be imported into the New England area. Whether this would continue should Irvine's new proposed terminal for Nova Scotia get approval is still unknown. The continued threats of terrorist attacks hold a cloud over the continuance of the Everett terminal, which is close to Boston city centre and at the end of Logan Airport runway. Not that LNG offers any greater danger to the city compared to LPG, oil or chemical carriers.

The long-awaited re-opening of the Cove Point terminal should occur in the third quarter of 2003. New owners, Dominion Energy, having acquired the terminal from Williams, have three customers BP, Shell and the new user Statoil who recently purchased El Paso's capacity at this terminal, along with its SPA from Snohvit.

With the forecast for U.S. gas prices around the $4.00 per mmbtu, the U.S. market should continue to be the stimulus for many LNG projects and if the West coast terminals come into existence then the Asian producers should also become involved in this market, rather than just the Middle East and African producers.

There would also seem to be the prospect of more new terminals on the East coast of the U.S. with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) apparently relaxing the tight reins on approval of new sites.
  

Other Developments

We have previously referred to the fleet age profile, old-ship disasters and the arrival of alternative propulsion. Larger size vessels, of up to 200,000 cbm, are under consideration by ExxonMobil and TotalFinaElf for their new proposed long-haul trades from Qatar whilst 145,000 cbm would appear to be the optimum size for new orders today. The 145,000 cbm size is more or less the maximum size acceptable to all existing terminals and as flexibility is very much the key focus on modern LNG trade any increase in this size is not expected in the near future, unless the new CS1 containment system gains wider use. The main advantage of the CS1 is the increase in cargo capacity for no change in external dimensions of the vessel.

As for the age profile, we would seriously question the industry's love affair with old tonnage when the rest of the shipping industry is looking carefully at the age of ships. Furthermore, with increased efficiency of the modern tonnage and the possibility of wider use of electric propulsion coupled with relatively low new ship prices, the case for fleet renewal should be given wider consideration.
  

Summary

LNG shipping will continue to grab headlines in the near future, hopefully for good reasons rather than adverse incidents such as the 'Norman Lady' accident with a U.S. submarine. The fleet size is growing at a rate previously unheard of and with 137 active and 56 on order the magical figure of 200 ships should be reached by 2007. As the new chosen preferred fuel for the future, the growth in LNG trade should continue and with it the LNG shipping industry.

Evolution cannot be ignored and for LNG this will be shorter charter periods, more flexible trading routes with less 'tram-line' operations. There should be progression towards alternative propulsion away from the very high fuel consumption represented by steam turbines, and this may be hastened after the delivery of the Gaz de France 74,000 cbm in 2 years time that will be fitted with a diesel-electric engine. It will be worth noting the pioneer's effect this new technology will have on the market.

New ship prices are expected to remain about the present level and stay there for the future with the anticipated arrival of the Chinese yards entering the 'club' in 2006. It should not be forgotten that it was the emergence of the new 'members' in Korea that assisted in the fall of LNG prices in the mid'90's.
 

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Bonn/Riyadh
The Middle Eastern company has two thousand employees
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has asked the Region to agree on the appointment of Bagalà as president of the Sardinian Port Authority.
Rome
He is currently the extraordinary commissioner of the same body
CMPort's port terminals handled record container traffic in the second quarter
Hong Kong
In the first six months of 2025 the total was 78.8 million TEUs (+4.3%)
Confitarma approves the decree on advanced training for tanker seafarers.
Rome
Applause to the General Command of the Port Authority Corps
Quarterly freight traffic in Moroccan ports increases
Tangier/Casablanca
In Tanger Med the growth was +17%
The board of directors of the Genoa-based Ente Bacini has been renewed.
Genoa
President Alessandro Arvigo and CEO Maurizio Anselmo
In the second quarter, sales of dry containers produced by CIMC fell by -33%.
Hong Kong
Reefer boats increase by 57%
The Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of the Grande Shanghai
Naples
It will be used for the transport of vehicles between East Asia and Northern Europe
Chinese automaker FAW ships components to Europe by train
Changchun
Transit time reduced to 18 days compared to 45 days for maritime transport
The ART urges to verify that the investment plan and the related amortization period are consistent with the duration of the port concessions.
Turin
Opinions regarding the concession extensions requested by the Neapolitan companies So.Te.Co. and Co.Na.Te.Co.
The assets and fleet of the Spanish Armas Trasmediterránea will be sold to Baleària and DFDS
Las Palmas/Dénia/Copenhagen
Two agreements worth €215 million and €40 million respectively have been signed.
Italian State Railways (FS), investing €70 million to install the ERTMS system.
Rome
Work has been completed on 382 Trenitalia trains, while the retrofitting of 60 locomotives from Mercitalia Rail, an FS Logistix company, is underway.
MPC Container Ships' quarterly revenue returns to growth
The second quarter of 2025 was closed with a net profit of 78.1 million dollars (+20.5%)
Plans to build two container customs areas north and south of the Suez Canal
Cairo
Fourteen of the 48 abandoned shipwrecks in Catania port have been removed.
Catania
The activity will be replicated in the port of Augusta
The Regional Administrative Court (TAR) has confirmed the validity of the tender for the new Ravano Terminal in the port of La Spezia.
La Spezia
DP World's port terminals handled record quarterly container traffic
Dubai
Revenues grew by 22.2% in the first half of 2025
In the quarter April-June the volume of rolling stock transported by Höegh Autoliners increased by +9.0%
Oslo
Sharp increase (+46.6%) of vehicles from Asia
South Korea's HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering acquires Vietnam's Doosan Enerbility
Seongnam
It manages an industrial area with its own port facility
Container traffic in the port of Algeciras grew by 6.6% in July
Algeciras
In the first seven months of 2025, a decrease of -2.9% was recorded
In July, the port of Valencia handled 488,000 containers (+6.7%)
Valencia
Increase driven by growth in empty containers
Salvini has appointed Annalisa Tardino as extraordinary commissioner of the Western Sicilian Sea Port Authority.
Rome/Palermo
The President of the Sicilian Region announces the appeal against the provision
The materials dredged in the ports of La Spezia and Carrara will be used for the construction of the new breakwater in Genoa.
Genoa/La Spezia
Agreement between the two Ligurian Port System Authorities
X-Press Feeders denounces authorities' failure to acknowledge responsibility in the X-Press Pearl accident
Singapore
According to the company, the Supreme Court ruling ignores international maritime law
Cargo traffic in Russian ports remained stable in July
St. Petersburg
In the first seven months of 2025, loads decreased by -4.6%
Container traffic in the port of Hong Kong decreased by -6.5% in July
Hong Kong
A decline of -3.7% was recorded in the first seven months of 2025
In July, the Port of Singapore set a new all-time record for monthly container traffic with 3.9 million TEUs.
Singapore
In terms of weight, containerized cargo decreased by -3.6%
Compensation to be paid by the Civitavecchia Port Authority in the Fincosit case has been set at €1.5 million.
Civitavecchia
Latrofa: The ruling allows the release of set-aside sums that have frozen the budget for years.
Germany's HHLA posts record quarterly revenue
Hamburg
In the second quarter, the group's port terminals handled 3.2 million containers (+7.9%)
In the first half of 2025, CK Hutchison's port terminals handled 44 million containers (+4.0%)
Hong Kong
In the quarter April-June the Wallenius Wilhelmsen fleet transported 14.8 million cubic meters of rolling stock (-0.5%)
Lysaker
Revenues down by -0.7%
In the second quarter, Montenegro's ports handled 670 thousand tons of goods (+0.6%)
Podgorica
Volumes with Italy amounted to 154 thousand tons (+53.1%)
PORTS
Italian Ports:
Ancona Genoa Ravenna
Augusta Gioia Tauro Salerno
Bari La Spezia Savona
Brindisi Leghorn Taranto
Cagliari Naples Trapani
Carrara Palermo Trieste
Civitavecchia Piombino Venice
Italian Interports: list World Ports: map
DATABASE
ShipownersShipbuilding and Shiprepairing Yards
ForwardersShip Suppliers
Shipping AgentsTruckers
MEETINGS
Conference: "Waiting and Delays in Road Transport: Logistics in Check"
Genoa
Organized by Trasportounito, it will be held on September 26th in Genoa
The conference "EU ETS - Perspectives and Opportunities for Decarbonization in the Maritime Sector" will be held in Palermo.
Rome
It will be held on September 18th and 19th
››› Meetings File
PRESS REVIEW
Korean Firms Reassess U.S. Investments After Mass Immigration Raid
(The Korea Bizwire)
Russia's infrastructure development plan aims to build 17 marine terminals by 2036
(Interfax)
››› Press Review File
FORUM of Shipping
and Logistics
Intervento del presidente Tomaso Cognolato
Roma, 19 giugno 2025
››› File
With the arrival of the first container ship, the testing of operational procedures at the Rijeka Gateway begins.
The Hague
The first commercial ship is expected on September 12th
A proposal to bring the port of Taranto back onto global container routes? Start a discussion table.
Taranto
Meeting on the status of freight traffic
Port of Ancona: Tender for demolition of fire-damaged Tubimar warehouses
Ancona
The expected duration of the works is four and a half months
Merger of the German MACS and Hugo Stinnes, both active in the MPP vessel segment
Hamburg/Rostock
Stinnes headquarters in Rostock to close by December 31
In the second quarter, freight traffic in Albanian ports grew by +2.9%
Tirana
There were 331 thousand passengers (+13.6%)
A.SPE.DO, operationalizing the Smart Terminal to increase the competitiveness of the port of La Spezia.
La Spezia
ING loans to Premuda for over 100 million dollars
Milan
Funds for the management buyout and the purchase of two product tankers
Sallaum Lines has taken delivery of the first of six Ocean-class dual-fuel PCTCs
Rotterdam
The ship was completed four months ahead of schedule
First meeting of the new Management Committee of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority
Genoa
Several measures approved, including those for CULMV and CULP staff
Euroports to operate a new liquid bulk terminal in the French port of Port-La Nouvelle
Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht
It is expected to become operational in 2026
In the second quarter, freight traffic in the port of Ravenna increased by +2.6%
Ravenna
Growth of 0.6% was recorded in June. An increase of 4.8% is expected in July.
OsserMare presents five reports on the marine economy
Rome
They focus on a specific sector supply chain or aspect of it
Port of Naples: Road haulage operations resume
Naples
Resolution meeting between institutions, operators and trade associations
ICTSI again reports record quarterly financial and operating results
Manila
Global Ship Lease Reports Record Quarterly Revenue
Athens
In the April-June period, net profit was 95.4 million dollars (+8.4%)
Vard receives new order from North Star for two hybrid SOVs
Trieste
Contract worth between 100 and 200 million euros
The Panama Shipping Registry will no longer accept the registration of oil tankers and bulk carriers over 15 years old.
Panama
Measure to counter the use of the shadow fleet
Danaos Corporation reports record quarterly revenue
Athens
The April-June period closed with a net profit of 130.9 million (-7.3%)
New customs fast corridor between the port of La Spezia and Interporto Padova
Padua
It adds to the other three already active on the same route
ICTSI to operate Indonesia's Batu Ampar Container Terminal
Manila
It is located on Batam Island
Pino Musolino has been appointed CEO of the Alilauro shipping company.
Naples
He replaces the resigning Eliseo Cuccaro
In the second quarter, DIS' time charter revenues fell by -37.1%.
Luxembourg
Net income was $19.6 million (-70.5%)
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