2017 and 2018 to See Rise in Vessel Operating Costs: Moore Stephens

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday October 26, 2017

Moore Stephens UK (Moore Stephens), reporting on the results of a recent survey of key players in the international shipping industry, said vessel operating costs are expected to rise in both 2017 and 2018.

Among the expected cost increases, Moore Stephens says the expenditure for lubricants is predicted to increase by 1.6 percent in both 2017 and 2018.

"We do not expect income to increase significantly over the next 12 months, which in turn will limit the available budget for operating expenses," said one survey respondent.

Asked what three factors would most affect operating costs over the next 12 months, 21 percent of respondents said finance costs would be the most significant factor, while 19 percent identified crew supply as the most significant factor, and displaced competition was put in second place.

"The predicted 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent increases in operating costs for 2017 and 2018 respectively compare to an average fall in actual operating costs in 2016 of 1.1 percent across all main ship types recorded in our recent OpCost study," said Richard Greiner, Partner, Shipping & Transport at Moore Stephens.

"One year ago, expectations of operating cost increases in 2017 averaged 2.5 percent, so the fall now in that expectation to 2.1 percent must be regarded as good news."

In September, Moore Stephens said shipping confidence had reached its highest rating in the past three years during the three months ending August 2017, with the average confidence level up to 6.2 out of 10.00 from 6.1 in the previous survey in May 2017.