London, UK – Underlying vessel operating cost inflation accelerated moderately in 2019 on higher repair & maintenance and insurance spend, while looking ahead costs are expected to continue rising at a similar pace in 2020 on a hardening insurance market before receding in subsequent years, according to the latest Ship Operating Costs Annual Review and Forecast 2019/20 report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Costs rose for a third consecutive year following marked declines in the capacity ravaged years of 2015-16. Opex costs are heavily linked to developments in the wider shipping market as some, such as insurance, are connected to asset values and others impacted by the ability of shipowners to pay.

Drewry estimates that average daily operating costs across the 46 different ship types and sizes covered in this report increased 2.2% in 2019, compared to underlying increases of 1.1% and 0.7% respectively in the previous two years. This followed a period in which opex spending contracted over two consecutive years by almost 9% in 2015-16