South Korean shipbuilding company Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is in talks with some unnamed shipping companies to buy up to 11 vessels this July.
Namely, HHI and its Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. arm could win orders for as many as 11 vessels in July, Ka Sam Hyun, the company’s Senior Executive Vice President in charge of ship sales told Bloomberg.
According to Ka, apart from containerships the shipbuilder also expects to win orders for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). There is speculation that the VLCCs are connected to Brazil’s mining company Vale SA, as officials from Vale visited Hyundai earlier this year.
Ka disclosed that the ongoing ordering spree for mega containerships is expected to last until next year as carriers strive to cut costs by using bigger vessels on routes with already low freight rates.
However, an issue remains regarding the ability of carriers to secure enough cargo for these bigger vessels to attain economies of scale.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.