Turkey, 22 September 2021 – Nippon Paint Marine has registered a significant spike in Turkish drydockings as operators of small to mid-size tonnage redirect vessels from Asia due to capacity issues and a general tightening of COVID rules.
According to the Japanese paint manufacturer, one of the global suppliers of marine coatings, ship repair projects at repair facilities in the Tuzla district have increased by 15% to 20% over the past 12 months, with many yards close to capacity.
Capt. Baybora Yildirim, Managing Director, Nippon Paint Marine Turkey, said the confluence of a number of market dynamics has had a beneficial impact on the regions maritime cluster. In particular, he singled out the expiry of drydock extension certificates issued 6 to 12 months ago combined with capacity issues at Asian facilities amid a resurgence in COVID cases.
Shipowners are also being hit by a tightening of COVID restrictions in China and Singapore, where vessels are
waiting at anchorage for up to two weeks. And with shipowners looking at keeping their vessels trading for as
long as possible we are seeing more ships heading directly to Turkey, in some cases on the last day of their drydock extension rather than lose any trading days.
“Historically high freight rates have resulted in owner deferring scheduled drydockings to allow vessels to keep on trading, but many of these certificates are due to expire, resulting in increased drydocking activity.”
Capt. Yildirim furthered that market dynamics are also resulting in an increase in orders for higher value coating
systems designed to keep drydock time to a minimum. When times are bad, shipowners will consider cost over
performance, but we are seeing the reverse today: its quality over cost. Shipowners are investing in coatings proven to perform over extended periods.
John Drew, Director, Nippon Paint Marine Europe, said: I have never seen a supply and demand imbalance quite like the one we are seeing today. Freight rates have quadrupled; they are so high at the moment that every shipowner wants to be at sea with a cargo earning money, rather than in drydock. When you consider the time charter rate for a handy size bulker is about US$30,000, then a drydocking can be a very a costly business. It is for this reason we developed FASTAR.
Nippon Paint Marines new antifouling system minimise the time in drydock required for hull coating work. Depending on the vessel, a FASTAR application can reduce drydock time for a two-coat system by one day.
Main image: Capt. Baybora Yildirim, Managing Director, Nippon Paint Marine Turkey
