Japanese and Chinese shipping companies target the huge market for passenger and ro-ro ships
2016-06-23 09:00
Statistics show that a large number of aging vessels, approximately 804 passenger ro-ro ships over 20 years old, are currently in the global passenger ro-ro fleet. This means that shipowners will urgently need to order new ships to replace old ones in the coming years, and passenger ro-ro ships will become a hotspot in the sluggish ship market.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) enters the passenger ro-ro market
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Vice President, Yoichi Kujirai, recently stated that with the increasingly fierce competition in the newbuilding market, MHI hopes to expand into ship types beyond the mainstream areas of tankers and bulk carriers. MHI estimates that until 2018, the global average shipyard capacity will be approximately 80 million GT per year, while the average annual demand for newbuildings will be less than 50 million GT.
Anticipating such a huge renewal demand in the global passenger ro-ro market in the coming years, Kujirai stated that MHI will focus on passenger ro-ro ship construction, drawing lessons from its past failures and experiences in cruise ship construction.
European shipyards have always held a leading position in the passenger ship market. However, Kujirai pointed out that among the passenger ro-ro ships that need to be updated, 83 are from Japanese shipowners, who are likely to choose Japanese shipyards to order new ships. At the same time, MHI is also optimistic about the Asian and Oceanian markets, expecting that 133 passenger ro-ro ships will need to be replaced in these markets in the future.
Kujirai stated that MHI's goal is to receive 2 to 3 passenger ro-ro ship orders per year, maintaining a business scale of 100 billion yen. MHI plans to build passenger ro-ro ship hull sections at its Nagasaki shipyard, while the Shimonoseki shipyard will also enhance its outfitting capabilities.
With the increasing demands for environmental protection and safety from passenger ro-ro operators, MHI believes that passenger ro-ro ships will be a good market for its leading shipbuilding technology and design.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries previously suffered huge losses due to its luxury cruise ship construction business. In 2011, MHI signed a contract with AIDA Cruises to build two luxury cruise ships. However, due to delayed delivery, MHI's cumulative losses in luxury cruise ship construction have exceeded US$2 billion to date.
Currently, MHI has not decided whether to continue its luxury cruise ship business. However, Kujirai stated that MHI hopes to offset the losses from its luxury cruise ship business through expansion in the passenger ro-ro market.
Domestic shipyards have received multiple new passenger ro-ro ship orders this year.
Domestic shipyards have received multiple new passenger ro-ro ship orders this year.
Image: China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) signs a contract with Stena RoRo for 4+2+2 passenger ro-ro ships.
Passenger ro-ro ships are vessels used for transporting cars, passengers, and providing onboard accommodation and entertainment services, connecting land and islands, islands and islands, and straits. They are currently high-end products in the global shipbuilding industry.
On April 5th, China International and the world-renowned passenger ro-ro shipowner, Sweden's Stena AB, jointly hosted the 2016 High-End Passenger Ro-Ro Ship Development Seminar. At the meeting, Totto Hartmann, senior partner of Clarkson Platou, introduced that the recent demand for passenger ro-ro ships is strong, with charter rates and asset values significantly increasing, and passenger ro-ro shipowners are updating and expanding their fleets. Taking this opportunity, China Shipbuilding and Stena RoRo signed a contract for 4+2+2 passenger ro-ro ships with a capacity of 930 passengers and 3100 meters of vehicle lanes.
Totto Hartmann introduced that data shows that there are currently 426 passenger ro-ro ships of 7000 gross tonnage or more in operation globally, accounting for 1% of the global fleet. Although the proportion of passenger ro-ro ships is not large, the market share is expanding, and the Southeast Asian market, which has huge passenger and cargo potential, is generally optimistic in the industry. Totto Hartmann stated that the average age of the global passenger ro-ro fleet is over 24 years, and the number of orders on hand is lower than the average over the past 30 years, with new ship orders accounting for only 5% of the existing fleet. The recent significant increase in passenger ro-ro charter rates has also stimulated shipowners' ordering enthusiasm. According to International Ship Network, 17 passenger ro-ro ship orders have been signed so far this year. In addition to China Shipbuilding Weihai Shipyard receiving 4+2+2 ships, Foning Shipbuilding Heavy Industry has also received orders for 2 106M passenger ro-ro ships. In addition, shipyards including Guangzhou Shipyard International, Port Shipbuilding, Huanghai Shipbuilding, Guangdong New Ship Heavy Industry, and Jinglu Shipbuilding currently have multiple passenger ro-ro ships under construction.
It is understood that the proportion of passenger ro-ro ships in China's current water passenger transport vessels is less than 20%. With the improvement of residents' consumption level, more and more people will travel by car, and the future demand for passenger ro-ro ships will increase rapidly.
Related News
Address: No. 6, Xingyuan Avenue, Rucheng Street, Rugao City, Jiangsu Province
Tel: 86-513-87268999、86-513-7268666
Fax: 86-513-87268998
Email: info@ntlw.com
WeChat：15335077201
WeChat Official Account
Video account
Douyin account
Copyright © 2025 Nantong Liwei Machinery Co., Ltd.丨Powered by:www.300.cn丨SEO