According to the Drewry shipping consultancy, the growing project cargo demand outlook could spur further orders for multipurpose vessels.                                                 

Drewry added more vessels to its theoretical MPV orderbook to balance other elements in its model. “These additional vessels do not yet exist; however, it is our expectation that the growing demand outlook will incentivise further real-life newbuilding orders,” said Peter Molloy, Senior Analyst, Multipurpose Shipping..

“With low slot availability and the time required to build the various types of vessels that make up the MPV fleet we see the near term orderbook as set and have not added any additional vessels for delivery in the years 2024 and 2025.

“Even if we see an uptick in newbuild ordering in the next two years, it is unlikely those additional ships would get delivered before 2027, leading to a tight market in 2026/27, especially in the Project Carrier segment,” Mr. Molloy said.

Using its forecast model, Drewry reviewed the scenario where there are no additional orders during the forecast period. This resulted in rising utilisation and time charter rates.

“We expect that the nature of the upcoming upturn will be different from 2021/22 in a sense that the high utilisation and TC rate levels will be achieved exclusively by demand generated in the sector, without the additional “help” from container shipping. This should increase the appetite for more MPV newbuilds,” Mr. Molloy stated.

Some help from the sectors competing for general cargo, such as dry bulk or car carriers, could alleviate the expected supply crunch of the multipurpose vessels.

(Image of Spliethoff multipurpose vessel)