Nikos Papantonopoulos, analyst at Greek broker Intermodal, warned the so-called "Green Ships" could encounter a similar problem to that faced by "Greenfield Shipyards" a couple of years ago.
"Taking into consideration the new building prices for vessels and the fuel saving performance clause which is included in their charter parties," he said, "we conclude that we do not yet have a clear picture regarding this currently hot shipping debate.
"Parameters like bunker prices, evolution of ship designs, demand for MR tankers in general as well as the size of the eco fleet compared to the old conventional designs, are all going to influence the outcome of this equation."
"We may have an end result similar to the green field extravaganza, where market conditions changed [market collapse of 2008] and left many of these fields forever green."
Source: Asiasis
