Thank you for your comment. Frank, I've seen "ordering like there was no tomorrow" firsthand in 2008; greenfield shipyards (literally an empty field) boasting about their orderbooks for investment companies willing to jump on the bandwagon, expecting double digit growth to last forever...

But within this strictly cyclical industry like shipbuilding, there are also some other cycles that can soften or reinforce this cyclical effect. And offshore drilling happened to add another, deeper bottom to the already bottoming out shipbuilding.

They are scrapping 9 year old drill ships. The orderer of "West Libra" and "West Aquila" has very recently filed for bankruptcy protection, and the expectations about the recovery keep being shifted one year later every year. Offshore is not dead, of course, but offshorr drilling is pretty much in a zombie state.

Anyway, I wish that this pier empties, these vessels being eventually delivered and starting earning and returning their investments...

Cheers

Vlad

Frank, the shipping industry is the textbook example to explain the pig-cycle in economics.

Interesting Photo. I would not call them losers. Its the marine industry, one day your on top and the next day your on the bottom. I blame the owners actually, when the going is good in one segment thay all want a piece of the action and start ordering like there is no tomorrow and then what happens.!!!!
Regards Frank