Support boat operating costs set to rise
The costs of running support vessels will rise more than for other sectors.
Vessel operating costs across the board are expected to rise by 3.8% in 2011 and by 3.7% in 2012, with lube expenditure and crew costs identified as the categories most likely to produce the highest increases.
However, while responses to the survey by international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens identified lubricants as the cost category likely to increase most significantly over the two-year period – by 3.6% in 2011, and by 3.1% in 2012, support boats’ share is higher than others, looking at 3.9% and 3.7% respectively.
Further other areas were the subject of concern – including the high price of bunker fuel.
Moore Stephens also asked respondents to identify the three factors that were most likely to influence the level of vessel operating costs over the next 12 months. Overall, 26% of respondents identified finance costs as the most significant factor, followed closely by crew supply (25%). “Finance costs and potential interest rate hikes will be key factors for the market,” said one respondent.
Crew wages, meanwhile, are expected to increase disproportionately for support vessels, going up by 3.7% in 2011 and 3.9% in 2012.
Labour costs, competition and raw materials costs were other significant influencing factors which featured in the responses to the survey. One respondent said, “Raw materials will increase in cost, so there will be upward pressure on stores, spares and repairs.”
The cost of repairs and maintenance is expected to increase by 3.8 % in 2012 for support boats – a big jump over the industry standard of around 2.6%.
The survey is based on responses from key players in the industry, predominantly ship owners and managers in Europe and Asia. “Bunkers and lubes are our biggest cost,” said one respondent, while another said, “There will be an inevitable cost consequence of implementing fuel efficiency measures at the request of charterers, while the benefits of such measures will not be seen in terms of operating costs”.
Moore Stephens shipping partner Richard Greiner concludes, “Ship operating costs increased by an average of 2.2% across all the main ship types in 2010. And it is no surprise that our latest survey anticipates that costs will rise in both 2011 and 2012.”
However, it has to be said that these projected increases are nowhere near the increases seen in the 2000s and they point to a less volatile period for operating costs, although obviously the downturn is impacting the market.
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