But operating conditions remain tough. Penguin noted that demand for new vessels in H1 had weakened, while crewboat charter rates and utilisation rates fell. While none of its clients have terminated any shipbuilding contract, some vessel deliveries have been delayed by mutual agreement.
The lockdown of foreign workers’ dormitories in Singapore also affected in-house and subcontracted labour, delaying internal newbuilding projects for its chartering fleet. As at Thursday, all of Penguin’s in-house foreign workers were back to work, but most of its subcontracted foreign workers were still under lockdown.
To conserve cash, Penguin has now halted or slowed down some of its uncommitted build-for-stock vessels. All committed build-for-stock and build-to-order vessels are still being completed as scheduled. Penguin has also obtained and drawn down on a S$5 million unsecured term loan under Enterprise Singapore's Temporary Bridging Loan Programme.
The company said: “Notwithstanding the challenges, the group is still working hard to secure new build-to-order projects across various market segments, as it expands its geographical reach. The Batam shipyard is currently building various types of vessels for ship owners from South-east Asia, Australia, North Asia, Africa and Europe.”For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend.