Global ship-repair industry : evaluation of current situation and future trends

Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of the Global Ship-repair market. This subject is of great interest to all involved in the shipping industry, as it is one of the industry's major components. There are many yards that specialize in ship-repair and bear the necessary equipment and facilities to meet shipowners' needs and specifications. The service mix varies though, depending upon the strategic decisions made by the different shipyards so as to optimize their efficiencies. Different shipyards and geographical regions offer different varieties of services and specialization. Thereby, my aim is to define, analyze, and understand the mechanisms of the ship-repair market. To do so, I will first look on the market as a single unit. I will then segment the whole ship-repair industry into geographical regions, analyze them separately, and compare them. Through this process, I shall establish a way for a shipowner to more appropriately choose the shipyard that best meets his needs. So as to carry out the above analysis, I will have to compare the different yards on a common basis. For that purpose, a dry docking specification for an existing 34,000 dwt bulk-carrier vessel was sent to numerous yards around the globe on request for offers. Collecting data was not trouble-free; some shipyards did not respond to our drydocking specification at all, while others did not have free space to facilitate the vessel. After several attempts, more than thirty offers from around the world were aggregated, providing an ample set of data to carry out the necessary calculations. What follows next is a look into the future trends of the ship-repair market.