Ind-Ra ups shipping outlook to stable with negative bias

India Ratings today said some signs of stability are emerging in the troubled shipping industry and also upgraded the sector to 'negative-to-stable' from 'negative' for the next fiscal.
"The credit profile of corporates in the shipping sector is unlikely to deteriorate further as the bulk of the ships comprise crude oil and product tankers, a segment in which freight rates are likely to remain at around the current levels in FY15," it said.
As of September 2013, 61.9 per cent of the ships were in the crude oil and product tanker category.
It said during the good years prior to 2008, many shipping lines had gone on a debt funded expansion spree, and the resultant excess supply, coupled with the dip in demand due to the economic slowdown, had been hurting the companies for some years.

The agency said it expects the seaborne trade volume to grow by around 4.3 per cent in 2014, the same as the preceding two years.
For the tanker segment, which constitutes the largest chunk of the country's ships, India Ratings said it expects global charter rates to remain at the same levels as now, and specifically pointed out to the northward movement in rates in the second half of the 2013.
The container segment is expected to continue to witness rates being depressed due to significant capacity additions expected in FY'15.
The rating agency, however, stressed that given the current conditions, it is unlikely for the sector to get upgraded to the 'stable' at least for the next one year.