As cheap as ships?

RUNNING ships is getting cheaper. Costs are going down. Now, before shipowners start throwing bricks through my window and shippers accuse container lines of manufacturing bunker adjustment factor surcharges, it should be made clear that we are talking about costs other than fuel.

That said it still seems surprising that international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens is able to report that total annual operating costs in the shipping industry fell by 1.3 per cent in 2017. This compares with the 1.1 per cent average fall in costs recorded for 2016.

For the third successive year, all categories of expenditure in 2017 were down on those for the previous 12-month period, most notably for insurance costs and stores.