Marine Log - February 2008 - (Page 22)

CRUISESHIPPING 2007, adding 22,000 lower berths and nearly 850,000 GT to the fleet. There were two widely publicized cruise ship losses in 2007, the Sea Diamond off Santorini in April and the expedition ship Explorer off Antarctica in November. On January 1, 2008, the global cruise fleet included 323 ships (1,000 GT and above) of 13.2 million GT and 349 thousand lower berths, 6.5% more berth capacity than one year earlier. All but two of the 2007 deliveries were in the megaship category (>2,000 berths), ranging in size from 69-154 thousand GT with passenger capacity of 2,014-3,634. Megaships accounted for 81% of the berth capacity delivered in the past five years, and this segment accounts for 46% of current global capacity. There is a similar skewing in the age profile of the cruise fleet, as the 97 ships built since 2000 account for 49% of global capacity. $25.5 BILLION ORDERBOOK After a flurry of activity early in the year, it was thought that the declining value of the dollar limited prospects for new orders. However, in the last quarter new orders were placed for Costa, Cunard and AIDA, and an option exercised for Seabourn. Despite a large recent infusion of capital, Norwegian Cruise Lines chose not to exercise its option for a third F3 150,000 GT vessel. The orderbook on January 1, 2008 consisted of 42 ships (4.2 million GT, 106,000 berths) for delivery through 2012 with a value of $25.5 billion, or more than $240,000 per lower berth (see Table 1). The value figure is somewhat inflated, as several contracts are euro-denominated and the dollar value is expressed in terms of current exchange rates. Ten ships of more than 1 million GT and nearly 26,000 lower berths will be added to the fleet this year. The current orderbook equals 32% of the gross tonnage of the current fleet. Sixteen separate brands are building new ships. Royal Caribbean has the largest number of lower berths on order (14,443), followed closely by Costa (13,532). Eight of the Carnival family of brands account for 48% of the berth capacity on order, twice that of the Royal Caribbean brands. Upscale brands Seabourn, Oceania and Silversea also have newbuilding programs underway. Cruise ship construction remains firmly rooted in European yards, although there is speculation that a Korean yard will soon enter the market, particularly after South Korea’s STX Group acquired a 32.9% stake in Aker Yards. Virtually all the current orderbook is being built in Europe, with Italy (42%), Germany (26%) and France (18%) accounting for most of the gross tonnage. With the strength of the current orderbook, steady annual fleet capacity growth for the next several years in the 7-8% range is assured. By the end of the decade, the fleet will likely pass the 400,000 lower berth mark. APOLLO INVESTS $2.5 BILLION The private equity firm Apollo Management made a strong commitment to the cruise industry in 2007, investing more than $2.5 billion to acquire Oceania Cruises, a 50% stake in NCL Corp. and Regent Seven Seas. Oceania is now building two 66,000 GT 1,260-passenger vessels, and Regent is developing a new 700-passenger ship. NCL had announced 22 MARINE LOG FEBRUARY 2008 www.marinelog.com http://www.sika.dk http://www.sika.dk http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - February 2008

Marine Log - February 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Cruise Growth: Driven by Megaships and Europe Another Piece of the Short Sea Transport Puzzle Putting Together a More Advanced Jones Act Tanker Evolving Propulsion Options for Diesel Electric Ships In Search of Smarter Shipbuilding Seatrade Peview Events Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Website Directory Infodirect ML Marketplace Opinions

Marine Log - February 2008

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