A December newbuilding order rush at South Korean, Chinese and Japanese mega-yards has raised hopes of a recovery in demand in 2021.
There were three major ultra-large containership deals involving Ocean Network Express (ONE), China's Bocomm and Hapag-Lloyd, valued at about $1bn a piece, concluded in the last month of the year.
Then, just before the markets closed for Christmas, a $3bn 17-ship LNG newbuilding contract in South Korea involving the Mozambique LNG project helped raise sales figures and optimism further.
