I motsetning til 2018, som var et år med rekordhøy skraping av gammel tonnasje, så har 2019 har vært et år med rekordsvak skraping. I perioden januar til dags dato har det i følge Compass Maritime (på verdensbasis) kun blitt skrapet 8 vlccér, 7 suezmax, 3 aframax og 5 panamax. Tallene for tilsvarende periode i 2018 var 36 vlccér, 24 suezmax, 45 aframax og 8 panamax.

Det blir spennende å se hva som skjer i 2020. Er det noen som har noen tanker om året som kommer?


Hellenic Shipping News har gitt noen mulige forklaringer på den lave skrapingen i 2019 - samt gitt noen indikasjoner for hva som kan skje i 2020:

1. “ … this year’s dramatic decline in numbers is not surprising, considering that the pool of prime candidates for demolition has been considerably reduced following intense activity in 2018.

2. “Weaker scrapping prices have also discouraged demolition, with lightweight values gradually falling from a high of $435/tonne in March 2019 to under $375/tonne in October, notably down from a peak of $465/tonne seen in early 2018.

3. “Throughout this year, there also has been less willingness from Owners to send tonnage for scrap as expectations were running high that the rebound in the market is just around the corner”.

4. «... we have also observed an increase in VLCC floating storage demand in recent months, mainly for VLCCs around Singapore/Malaysia, as final preparations for IMO2020 got under way. According to our records, at the end of October 35 VLCC and converted VLCCs (FSOs) were involved in storage of crude, dirty petroleum products (including IMO2020 compliant bunker fuels) and clean products.

5. “… scrapping activity is likely to remain at minimal levels over the next few months on the expectation that geopolitical uncertainty, seasonal strength in refining runs, weather related delays and the IMO2020 disruptions could support tanker earnings during the winter season. However, this situation could change as we progress into the 2 nd quarter of next year.

6. “In terms of tanker supply, nearly 110 tankers will be celebrating their 20th birthday next year, (…..) Not all of these units will head for the beaches. However, trading conditions for ageing and inefficient tonnage will undoubtedly become more challenging, with the bunker base shifting to more expensive 0.5% sulphur fuels.

7. Furthermore, there are also tankers over 15 years of age that will have to renew their International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) certificates and hence face the deadline for an expensive Ballast Water Treatment system retrofit next year

(Kilde; Hellenic Shipping News)

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/just-4-vlccs-scrapped-during-2019/