SEO Version
20
COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited
INTERVIEWWITH
VICE CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT
It is also very encouraging to note that the IEA
(International Energy Agency) has in its Oil
Market report for January 2014 expected world
oil consumption to increase by 1.3 mb/d (million
barrels per day) in 2014, from the 1.2 mb/d in 2013
in a scenario where the industrialised economies are
expected to continue to recover.
The offshore marine market should generally
continue to be buoyant.
3. THE SHIPPING MARKET SEEMED TO HAVE
RECOVERED FROM THE SECOND HALF OF 2013.
WHAT DO YOU FORESEE THE NEXT FEW YEARS WILL
BE LIKE FOR THE SHIPBUILDING BUSINESS?
The shipping market picked up slightly in the second
quarter of 2013 in anticipation of the recovery of the
Eurozone economies as well as that of the United
States. However, demand was uneven across the
various ship types and classes, which were still stuck
in an oversupply situation.
It is too early to predict anything, as the ship charter
business is still very uncertain. Our most immediate
concern is its impact on the price levels of newbuilds.
Price increases for newbuilds in 2013, compared to
2012, were uneven across the size categories with
16.3% rise for Capesize vessels, 7.8% for Panamax,
9.1% for Handymax and 6.2% for Handysize. The
market is still very fragile, highly susceptible to slight
changes in untoward economic, monetary, fiscal
policy and political developments.
There was some rebalancing in supply and demand
in 2013, with quite a sizeable volume of scrapping
in 2013. The subsequent slight pick up in charter
demand had also given a positive spin to market
sentiments. We are still wary that global economic
uncertainties could continue to have an unsettling
effect on the shipbuilding market.
4. HOWWAS THE SHIP REPAIR MARKET IN 2013? AND
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR THE NEW FINANCIAL
YEAR?
For the 2013 financial year, our shipyard group
repaired/retrofitted a total of 643 vessels, a decline
of 7% from the 693 units serviced in the year before.
We will further develop the repair, conversion
and retrofitting business, as it can make positive
contributions to our overall performance. However,
we have to be prepared for a slightly weaker ship
repair market in the short-term due to the trend of
global fleets becoming younger, and shipowners’
tighter cost control in the current state of the
shipping market.
5. COULD YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON YOUR
SHIPYARD FACILITIES?
We have six shipyards in the Group and they are
located in Dalian, Guangdong, Nantong, Qidong,
Shanghai and Zhoushan. Together they have a total
dry dock capacity of 990,000 DWT and floating dock
capacity of 1,055,000 DWT and 38 berths.
TheDalian facilityhasbothdryandfloatingdockswith
berths up to 3.72 kilometres. Qidong and Zhoushan
have only dry docks while Guangdong and Nantong
are floating dock yards. There are 62 workshops and
storage facilities altogether occupying some 644,000
square metres of yard premises. Currently, Qidong
Shipyard is our principal yard for offshore marine
engineering projects.
6. WHAT MEASURES HAVE YOU PUT IN PLACE TO
ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FACE OF STIFFER
COMPETITION AND THE CONTINUING VOLATILE
MARKET?
We already have in place a dynamic programme
that has been designed to constantly drive more
innovation, greater project execution excellence,
effective lean management, higher productivity and
technical skills upgrading in all our operations.
Besides that,wehave anongoing trainingprogramme
to groom management talent by ensuring that they
receive exposure in as many relevant areas of the
Company’s business as possible.
Our R&D efforts are pushing new boundaries to
continuously improve work processes for greater
efficiency and quality assurance. We have some 1,600
highly trained and competent designers, engineers
and materials experts who specialise in research
for various product segments such as offshore
marine engineering, ship building, ship repair and
conversion, as well as development of new products.
Key Messages
Powered by FlippingBook Publisher