Owners have been tempted by higher spot/short-term charter rates, low newbuilding prices and rapidly growing LNG trade.
“Owners need to be careful they don’t over order. There is still a huge number of ships ordered in the 2011-2014 LNG newbuilding boom to be delivered to the fleet and there is a long history of new ships arriving before new supply,” Andrew Buckland, principal analyst, LNG shipping and trade, at global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said.