The 23rd Reportage: Japanese Shipowners　第23回ルポルタージュ・日本船主

“Opportunities Lie Precisely in BBC Deals for High Value-Added Vessels”

「高付加価値船のBBC商談にこそ勝機」

“If we make a mistake in ordering even one newbuilding, shipowners like us will no longer be able to survive. At the same time, if we continue postponing newbuilding orders indefinitely, we will also fail to secure depreciable assets. As a result, the choice inevitably becomes Chinese shipyards, where newbuilding prices are even slightly cheaper.”

In late April, inside the reception room of a Japanese shipowner based in western Japan, the shipowner, facing this correspondent after changing from shoes into slippers, revealed the harsh realities weighing on his mind.

It has long been said that newbuilding prices are soaring.

■Ultramax Newbuilding Resale Reaches $43m

Newbuilding prices, which entered a sharp upward phase around 2023, have now reached peak levels.

VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers), whose tonnage supply tightened following heightened tensions in the Middle East, have recently seen newbuilding prices exceed $131m per vessel, marking the highest levels on record.

■The Full Article Includes the Following Content (Approx. 3,000 Words)

→ What Japanese shipowners are really saying about considering orders at Chinese shipyards

→ On-the-ground testimony examining the pressure that “high-priced vessels” are placing on smaller shipowners

→ BBC projects involving LNG carriers and large container ships emerging as new business opportunities

→ Detailed coverage of the “high value-added vessel strategy” attracting attention from Japanese shipping operators and trading houses

→ An examination of the growing polarisation among Japanese shipowners and their survival strategies

(The remainder of the article can be read in the full text published in both English and Japanese. The Japanese article is published following the English version.)

第23回ルポルタージュ・日本船主

「高付加価値船のBBC商談にこそ勝機」

　「1隻でも新造船の発注をミスすれば、当社のような船主は立ち行かなくなる。かといって、いつまでも新造船を発注しなければ、償却資産も確保できない。結果的に、少しでも新造船価格が安い中国造船所という選択肢になる」

　4月下旬、中国地方の日本船主の応接間。靴をスリッパに履き替え向き合った日本船主は、厳しい胸の内を明らかにした。

　新造船価格が高騰していると言われて久しい。

■ウルトラマックスの新造リセールで4300万ドル

　2023年頃から高騰局面に入った新造船価格は、足元ではピークに達した。中東情勢の緊迫化を機に船腹がひっ迫したVLCC（超大型原油タンカー）は、足元の新造船価が1隻当たり1億3100万ドル超と過去最高水準となった。

■記事本文では以下の内容を読むことができます（記事全文約3,000文字）

→中国造船所への発注を検討する日本船主の“本音”とは

→「高船価船」が小規模船主に与える重圧を現場証言で検証

→LNG船・大型コンテナ船のBBC案件が新たな商機として浮上

→邦船オペレーターや商社が注目する“高付加価値船戦略”を詳報

→二極化が進む日本船主の現実と、生き残り策を追う

（続きは英語と日本語で書かれた本文でお読みください。日本語の記事は英文記事に続いて掲載されています）