Pressure on LNG to continue in 2018, says Drewry
Drewry Maritime Financial Research calculates that the global spot fleet will make aggregate operating losses of USD 230 million in 2017. Shipowners with substantial spot market exposure face continued challenges as Drewry expects pressure on the freight market to continue in 2018 on account of strong fleet growth.
“Having said that, we maintain our long-term bullish outlook for LNG shipping as fleet growth will slow down to 4% in 2019, from an average annual rate of 10% in 2017 and 2018, and trade growth will remain healthy at around 6.5% a year in 2019 and 2020,” commented Shresth Sharma, Drewry’s lead LNG shipping analyst.
Drewry illustrates its import forecast for five markets of particular potential, namely Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Myanmar. Although the demand potential of each of these individual markets might not be as great as China or India, their combined demand will be a strong driver of future LNG trade. (kd)