DREWRY SHIPPING REPORTS DECLINE IN PETROCHEMICAL GAS MARKET

DREWRY SHIPPING REPORTS DECLINE IN PETROCHEMICAL GAS MARKET    Dog days have afflicted the LPG, ammonia and petrochemical market, according to a new report from London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants.
   “In early 2001, the LPG market was booming,” the report said. Very large gas carriers earned more than $1 million a month. Today, it’s a very different scene, “with rates having plummeted and vessels sitting idle in the (Persian) Gulf desperate for a cargo,” the survey noted.
   “The speed and extent of the collapse has been truly dramatic but not altogether surprising. Freight rates were, in 2000 and early 2001, high not because of LPG market fundamentals, but from a combination of owner control over the market and a booming tanker market that allowed gas carriers to cash in trading cargoes they would normally only take in the last resort,” the Drewry report said.
   Because over one million cubic meters of capacity will be added to the gas carrier fleet in 2002, “prospects for the immediate future do not look good,” the report concluded.
   Drewry’s analysts predict that, apart from temporary seasonal rallies, freight rates will remain depressed “well into 2004. Thereafter, rates should climb substantially,” reaching a peak in the winter of 2005-06.
   The full report, “Annual LPG Market Review and Forecast — 2002,” may be obtained from Drewry for $1,250 in print and PDF versions, or $1,150 for either print or PDF versions. For more information, contact Drewry's Web site https://www.drewry.co.uk.