Running after the slots

In a period of particularly high demand from shipowners, it is difficult to secure orders for vessels to build in the main Chinese and South Korean shipyards with the openings not available until the end of 2027 or early 2028. The shipbuilding market is dynamic as earlier delivery slots are chased by buyers and the newbuilding prices are still climbing.

The ship types that are involved in discussions between shipowners and shipyards primarily requests tankers, bulkers, and gas carriers. On the other hand, the pace of order implementation for containership projects is subdued. During the pandemic, yards were filled with orders for containerships due to the market rally, but over the last two years, activity in the market has been corrected down.

At Tier I Chinese shipyards such as Nacks, Dacks, Qingdao Beihai, and Shanghai Waigaiqiao, most available slots concern delivery times that extend into 2028. Some shipyards have limited slots with delivery dates in 2027 such as Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (CHI) and will seek some deal with higher contract price.

At the same time, several Tier II and Tier III shipyards still offer some slots for deliveries within 2027, or even for the second half of 2026. An example is the shipyard Hengli Heavy Industries where shipowners are chasing slots which are expected to be quickly filled. The general trend in the Chinese yards is to provide deliveries within 2028, and this is reflected across most shipping segments. The few slots with delivery dates in 2027 are offered to the market at a premium, as orderbooks fill up, and many last-minute movers may risk being left behind.

At South Korean shipyards, recent large orders for LNG carriers from Qatar have pushed the overall delivery window for larger vessels until the end of 2027, or even into 2028 in some cases. Korean shipyards prioritize high-value assets such as LNG carriers, VLECs (Very Large Ethane Carriers), and VLACs (Very Large Ammonia Carriers) having managed to secure a healthy number of orders in these categories at the beginning of 2024. At the end of February, Hyundai Samho won an order for four LNG carriers each unit’s total cost at US$270 million with delivery scheduled in 2028.

On the other hand, the interest in South Korea’s conventional tankers and bulk carriers is relatively mild. If there are any slots with earlier delivery dates they are expected to be mainly covered by gas carriers. Although prices are high and deliveries are far down the line, the shipowners' appetite remains strong. However, we are unlikely to see an increase in prompt delivery dates being offered anytime soon except if there were to be significant interest from shipowners to order medium-sized product tankers and containerships. While Korean yards could accommodate such deliveries for these ships in 2026, it is worth noting that this is contingent on them being equipped with conventional main engines rather than dual fuel engines.