A critical work of balance has been going on in the dry bulk market for quite some time. In its latest short-term outlook of the dry bulk market, issued yesterday, BIMCO said that should demolition fall short by 5m DWT, fleet growth will jump to 3.4%. For the recovery to stay on track, the supply side must be handled extremely carefully as the demand growth is expected to be around 3.5%. This was among the key assumptions of the latest report, issued by BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Mr. Peter Sand.

In terms of demand, Mr. Sand noted that since early July, the capesize rates have gone up and up. By mid-August, they had reached a breakeven level to become profitable. BIMCO estimates that a capesize ship on average fleet financing and operational cost levels, turns profitable when rates are above $15,300 per day. “But the improvements are unfortunately not seen in any of the other segments. This reflects the development in cargo demand, and highlights the fact that overcapacity remains a challenge. Iron ore and coal volume growth have both been very high, driven by China. Domestic steel mill margins have risen throughout the first half of the year, ensuring that steel mills are keen to keep up production, and higher steel production means a healthy demand for coking coal too. This happens even with lower steel exports out of China, which is hampered by trade restrictions set up by importers. For thermal coal imports into China, it is important to watch hydropower electricity production”.

He added that “hydropower electricity production has been falling on a year-on-year basis every month since December 2016 (source: Commodore Research), due to lower levels of rainfall. As Chinese electricity demand this year is higher than ever, coal-fired power-plants are bridging the gap. This benefits dry bulk shipping, but watch out for coal prices delivered in northern parts of China. If they go high (above 630 yuan per ton), the authorities tend to intervene and increase domestic production. A pick up in hydropower production would influence demand for thermal coal imports negatively. As BIMCO reported on 9 August, China has sourced coal all the way from the US East Coast, with a sailing time of 45 days. This adds a lot of tonne-miles to panamax and capesize demand”.

Finally, “demand for thermal coal has grown solidly across Asia, with Taiwan and South Korea leading the pack. The only exception is India which is using more and more domestically mined thermal coal, importing less for the third year in a row. Beyond coal and iron ore, demand growth has been seen across the board. Soybeans set a quarterly alltime high for Q2 and grains are expected to have a strong Q3. (source: SSY)”, he concluded.

Supply-wise, BIMCO’s analyst said that “with improving shipping markets comes faster deliveries of ships from global shipyards. BIMCO sees this in all the main shipping segments that we analyse. This is to put it simply, how participants in the shipping industry and associated industries react, and is the reason why BIMCO reiterates the view that market recovery will be slower than many would hope. This is because improved demand is always followed by reduced focus on handling the supply side challenges. This means less idling and demolition as well as shorter/fewer postponements of deliveries. BIMCO expects 40m DWT to be delivered in 2017, offset by 19m DWT of demolished capacity”.

Year-todate, 30m DWT has been supplied while 9m DWT has left the fleet. We know that a higher BDI often means less demolition, but as the BDI has been lifted solely by the capesizes in recent months, our estimates for supply side changes remain unaltered. The fleet is estimated to grow by 2.7%.

Should demolition fall short by 5m DWT, fleet growth will jump to 3.4%. For the recovery to stay on track, the supply side must be handled extremely carefully as the demand growth is expected to be around 3.5%. The supply side is made up of three elements: deliveries, demolition and newbuild orders. Thus, with faster deliveries and slower demolitions, it is worrying to note that, what we expected to happen in relation to new orders is now taking place too. Orders for 9.6m DWT have been placed, with panamax being the popular choice.

Sand said that “in the wake of hectic activity in the sales and purchase market during the first four months of the year, second-hand prices went up and back in sync with newbuild prices. This made the ordering of newbuild an attractive alternative again, with April, May and June being particularly busy in this respect. Still, the order book currently stands at 60.4m DWT, which is the lowest in 13 years.

The growth of the dry bulk fleet differs significantly in level and pace from handysize to capesize. Handysize fleet growth over the past year has been fairly steady at 2.1%. It has remained constant for handymax/supramax too but at a level of 5.3%. In between, both the panamax and capesize segments have grown at an increasing pace and to higher levels since their recent low-points in 2016.

The monthly year-on-year fleet growth rate for panamax went from -0.4% in October 2016 to 3.1% in July 2017. From January 2015 to January 2016, the capesize fleet became marginally smaller. The first fleet size contraction since 1998/99. Since then 59 capesizes have been delivered, lifting year-on-year growth rates in July 2017 to 3.9%”, he concluded.

Detailing its estimate, BIMCO said in its report that “in addition to the Chinese import ban on coal from North Korea – established earlier in the year in accordance with UN sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile activities – China has also banned imports of iron ore. Seaborne shipping has seen no effect from the earlier ban, as China has not bought anthracite coal from any other suppliers. As the amount of iron ore imported from North Korea is only a fraction of coal imports, this will not be felt in the market either. It is comforting that the demand growth this year has been broad, in terms of commodities and importing nations.

Nevertheless, China is still the importer that matters but China is changing. Difficult to see if you only watch the dry bulk market, but several macroeconomic indicators point towards developments that may result in lower investments. Amongst them are Fixed Asset Investments (FAI), such as machinery, infrastructure and housing projects, which are huge drivers of dry bulk imports. Data points to lower and lower growth rates for both public and private investments. It remains to be seen to what extent the Belt and Road Initiative will counter this development positively”, it .

“For decades China has been an all-out growth story. But could China stall again, with potentially severe consequences for the dry bulk industry? Not long ago, China cut its import levels compared to a year earlier, for four quarters in a row, from Q3-2014 to Q2-2015. The result was a drop in BDI from 1,500 to 500 from early November to late February. Going forward, we must be aware that it could happen again. Note that, BIMCO’s “Road to Recovery” will see its third update in September, providing expert analysis for the industry on the latest developments in demand and supply”, Mr. Sand concluded.

Ship owners in the dry bulk market have seen the market’s fundamentals looking rosier, after the latest patch of data from the Chinese powerhouse, which is still the main driver of the bulk segment, in terms of demand. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “China’s economy has boosted optimism in the market as its recently announced GDP growth for the second quarter of the year exceeded expectations. Its economy expanded by 6.9% from a year earlier, beating expectations for a growth rate of 6.8% and matching the growth rate recorded in the first quarter of the year. This figure has been further supported by the rise in industrial output by 7.6% in June against a year earlier and a rise in retail sales and fixed-asset investments of 11% and 8.6% respectively”.

According to Allied’s George Lazaridis, Head of Market Research & Asset Valuations, with all these beating expectations and helping support a rate up to now, which is significantly higher than the full year economic growth target of 6.5% set out by China’s government, we have seen a renewed optimism for commodity exporters and miners, while also boosting confidence as to the market prospects for dry bulker shippers, given that the trade for dry bulk commodities is still mainly driven by Chinese demand. At the same time and despite this boost in optimism there are still voiced concerns in terms of the rising debt, overcapacity in several manufacturing sectors and the emergence of a possible bubble in the property sector”.

Lazaridis added that “given that most of the boost witnessed in the first half of the year has been mainly attributed to gains in all these three areas, there is a fear that their importance and role in bringing a potential reversal in fortunes for China’s economy has also grown significantly. As such there are still cautions being voiced as to the prospects of a potential slowdown in the second half of the year. For the time being however these are just voiced concerns, while it seems that given the recent trends China’s growth figure has become more robust and sustainable, especially as its consumer confidence and purchasing power in its home market has grown”.

As a result, “these boosts have been heavily reflected thus far in the performance of the dry bulk freight market during the same time period, with rates having shown a fair recovery compared to the daily earnings we had been witnessing a year back. Given the that China’s economic performance still plays an immensely significant role on the dry bulk market, with a fair share of the seaborne trade of dry bulk commodities still driven by Chinese demand, all eyes are heavily set on China so as to be able to get a sense of if we are really on a recovery path or not”, Allied’s analyst said.

At the same time the growth in the fleet has been kept under check during the first 6 months of the year, helping further improve the demand-supply balance in the market and support the improvement in freight rates that has been recorded thus far. Given that most have started to feel that this improved performance in China’s economy could help boost commodity exporters while also provide a stronger global consumer base from where other emerging markets can drive their own manufacturing and investment boom. Given that we have seen another rally take place in freight rates in the midst of the summer lull period, and that most still hold high expectations as to the market performance in the final quarter of the year, it would be to no surprise if we witnessed another rally in the secondhand market as buyers start flock back with even higher expectations of future earnings, driving in turn competition and another rally in asset prices. There has already been some slight indication of renewed buying interest, while it may well turn out that August will be a fairly busy month even when compared to previous years”, Lazaridis concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Tanker owners are seeking for rays of hope in a gloomy environment of late, with demand slowing down and fleet growth rising. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “news of U.S. inventory decline has hit the market by surprise with prices of the commodity showing some quick revival as OPEC continues to push with its production cuts limiting trading volumes and increasing bullish sentiment amongst investors. The prevailing sentiment has been holding for some months now that the supply glut has managed to still hold despite efforts that had been made since the final quarter of 2016. We are likely seeing a reversal to the prevailing trends and as such an increase demand which could help bolster the price of crude oil further. This however could have negative repercussions on the tanker trade, as the continual limit of production volumes could end up leaving for a sluggish trade and limited activity in the freight market”.

According to Allied’s George Lazaridis, Head of Market Research & Asset Valuations, “on the plus side, however we may well see an increased demand for imports from the U.S. in the case that an effort is made to bolster inventories once more. The positive sign from all of this is that we are starting to see a slight revival in demand, especially from Western economies, while the Far East should continue to keep its insatiable demand going. It is too early to tell if this recent trend will last or if it’s just a small temporary movement rather than a prevailing long-term trend”.

At the same time, as Lazaridis points out, “the tanker fleet has continued to grow over the first five months of the year, having now reached a growth rate of 2.41% for the year so far. At the same time the orderbook is still in double digits, with the overall ratio of vessels on order against the in-service fleet now holding at 11.95%. The size segments facing the greatest threat from their orderbook are the crude oil tankers, with Suezmaxes holding at a ratio of 15.54%, while closely following this are the Aframaxes and finally the VLCCs with 14.87% and 14.15% respectively. Given that the percentage of vessels in the active fleet which are above 20 years of age is relatively limited in comparison, we are likely looking at a fair amount of growth in the fleet over the coming years, something that could potentially leave us with an increased imbalance of demand and supply in the freight market and a further deterioration of the prevailing rates”.

He added that “the hope is that consumption will step up and help bolster trade from non-OPEC members, while any increases in the price of crude oil this could trigger could possibly also allow for OPEC to ease its production cuts rather than further intensify them during the course of the year. What’s certain at this point is that the tanker freight market is still under pressure and given the recent softening trends being seen across all the crude oil tanker segments over the past couple of weeks, it looks as though the summer period has gotten off to a relatively slow start. The average time charter equivalent rates for these sizes has continually held below the freight levels noted during the same period last year, though it is important to note that they are still at a relatively better shape then what was being seen between 2010-2014. As such it seems wise to tread carefully right now, despite the fact that we have started to see some positive signs in the underlining demand fundamentals of the market”, Allied’s analyst concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

The tanker market is faced with slow demand growth, which has led to a softening of the freight rate market over the course of the past few months. In its latest weekly note, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “despite the efforts being made by oil producing nations and especially efforts being made by OPEC members, we have seen limited gains in terms of pricing for crude oil in the year to date. Despite most expectations that were being made during the end of 2016 of the average price of crude reaching in the US$ 60 per barrel, prices have stubbornly held at around US$ 50 per barrel never reaching levels above US$ 55 per barrel. In part this is a reflection of the limited and not so aggressive commitment by OPEC members to curb their output”.

According to Allied’s, George Lazaridis, Head of Market Research & Asset Valuations, “OPEC production levels fell for a fourth straight month in April, despite the fact that there continues to be difficulty with holding compliance with the agreed cuts made in late 2016. With prices however still lagging it does now seem that OPEC may well decide to expand the initially agreed six month time frame while also possibly expanding the amount of cuts in hope to really generate some momentum in the market. The main issue has been that most major imports are still holding fairly high inventories, while over the past years reliance for demand in the market has shifted away from the U.S. (which now has its own production capacity to meet its needs) and Europe, towards the East and more particularly that of China”.

Lazaridis added that “however, China’s thirst for the black gold seems to be limited, with an inability to really drive the market to the levels most oil producers would hope. Despite this however, BP today announced stellar first quarter results, having almost tripled its profits from a year ago. This follows on similar upbeat financial results having been posted by the likes of Exxon and Chevron last week. Things however have not been as rosy for the tanker market, as with even this small gain in prices for crude oil compared to what we were seeing a year back, we have seen a significant slowing down in the rate of seaborne trade. Freight rates on the Eastbound routes have held an overall better performance then westbound voyages, yet overall the market seems to have been constantly underperforming compared to its respective performance in the first quarter of 2016”.

According to Allied’s analyst, “this is likely to continue to be the trend, while if further cuts are agreed or the duration of the production cuts is extended we may well see the overall freight market deflate further. The main Achilles heel is still the underlining fundamentals of the crude oil market, with other energy sources continuing to eat up oil’s market share in the energy mix, while at the same time the growing trend being on increased trade of oil products rather than crude oil in its raw form. Overall, it seems as though the tanker market’s small pains may well continue and there is even an off chance of getting worse before they get better. The main positive thing is that we still have a relatively limited orderbook of crude oil tankers, while new orders have been few even during the good performance of 2015 and the first half of 2016”, the shipbroker concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

With the tanker market inching higher as of late, it’s worth taking a closer look at the future trends which could shape demand and determine ship owners’ decisions moving forward, as in the medium-term, the oil markets could be headed for shifts of collosal proportions. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson noted that “in the most recent International Energy Agency (IEA) medium-term outlook, the agency has forecast global oil demand will rise from 96.6 million b/d in 2016 to 103.8 million b/d by 2022 and that this demand growth will mainly come from non-OECD counties. Forecast oil demand growth for non-OECD counties, according to the outlook, is expected to rise by 8.5 million b/d by 2022 while in contrast OECD demand is expected to decline by 1.2 million b/d over the same period. More efficient oil use and the shift towards alternative energy sources are cited as part of the reasons behind slower demand growth. So effectively (no surprise) the bulk of future oil demand will continue to come from Asia Pacific region. The IEA estimate Asian crude demand will increase by approximately 5 million b/d by 2022”.

According to the London-based shipbroker, “over the past few years, Asian crude producers have experienced a continual decline in domestic production, in part due to the low oil price environment (cheaper to buy on the international market) as well as depleting oil fields and lack of fresh investment. Latest analysis states that this situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. In fact, research points towards further downwards pressure on Asian oil production which is set to fall by more than 600,000 b/d by 2022. This would be the equivalent of 1% of global oil demand. Half of Asia’s forecast production decline is accounted for by China, still the largest producer, but many fields are mature, drying up and extraction is becoming more expensive. According to the IEA Chinese production has reached its lowest level in nearly a decade and shows no sign of recovering forecasting a drop to 3.7 million b/d by 2022 compared with 4 million b/d in 2016. The situation is the same for other Asian countries. By 2022 the IEA believe that in addition to Chinese losses other Asian producers will see a 410,000 b/d drop in production with the biggest decline from Indonesia (minus 125,000 b/d). Smaller losses are forecast for Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India over the outlook period, but nevertheless add to the picture. Of the Asian producers only Australian production is set to grow”.

Gibson added that “all the above could provide support for the crude tanker market in the medium-term, in particular the VLCC sector. The IEA report claims that not all the additional barrels will be met by Middle-East producers as more production will be absorbed by the local refiners. Consequently, barrels will have to be sourced from other regions including the USA. Other developments in the Asian region include expanding refinery capacity which will naturally require feedstock whether sourced domestically or otherwise. An example of this is the 200,000 b/d Vietnamese Nghi Son refinery expected to receive its first shipment of crude in May. Nghi Son is 35% owned by Kuwait Petroleum and will eventually produce 8.4 million tonnes of product annually meeting around 40% of growing domestic demand. These kind of developments will support long-haul crude trades but could impact on the short-haul Aframax market in north Asia which are already impacted by pipeline developments. And of course, new refinery developments may support the crude import sector but may compete with long haul product flows into the region. As the tanker market starts to feel the impact of the recent OPEC agreement, the industry continues to seek some good news to boost spirits”.

Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Newbuilding contracting activity thus far in 2017 has been much more brisk than during the same period of 2016, as shipyards’ pricing has been much more aggressive, thus attracting more orders. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “up till now the year has shown considerably better activity levels in the newbuilding front then what had been seen over the majority of 2016. It seems as though some of the aggressive pursued by shipbuilders marketing has started to pay off. The new financing structures on offer and considerable price discounts has started to attract the attention of some owners, although they are still relatively few in number”.

Allied added that “at the same time it seems that the prevailing belief amongst most owners is that we are set to see a further drop in newbuilding prices, something that may well be proving to deter most potential buyers from taking any hastily made actions right now, while given that we have yet to see any real spark or vigor in the freight markets of the main bulk ship types such as dry bulkers and tankers, there seem to be limited reasons to real push buyers onto the new ordering route”.

Meanwhile, in the S&P market this past week, ship valuations’ expert VesselsValue noted that in the tanker market there were no sales to report, while values have remained stable. In the dry bulk market, values were also stable over the course of the past week. “Modern Capesize vessels have softened slightly due to a decrease in charter rates. Panamax values have remained stable, Flama (80,500 DWT, Feb 2011, STX Offshore) sold for USD 14.8 vs VV value of USD 14.2 mil. Modern Supramaxes have firmed this week, Brilliant Phoenix (61,200 DWT, April 2016, I-S) was sold for USD 22.6 mil vs VV value of USD 21.58 mil. The Indigo Felicity (28,400 DWT, Jan 2010, Imabari) was sold to Giavridis Maritime for USD 7.5 mil vs VV value of USD 7.89 mil, softening mid age Handy Bulkers”, said VV. It added that in the container market, things were also slow, with no sales reported, while values remained unchanged over the week before.

According to Allied Shipbroking, in the S&P market, “on the dry bulk side, things were slightly slower this week in terms of activity, though not by a whole lot and possibly more of a reflection of the decreased number of sales candidates being circulated in the market for the larger size segments. At the same time the number of hadysize bulkers that have been put up as sales candidates has increased considerably especially in the vessels in the mid high 30,000 dwt range. As a note to our previous week’s reported sale of the M/V “DARYA BHAKTI” (56,060dwt, built Japan 2005), we now understand that the price is in the region of high US$ 8.0m. On the tanker side, activity dropped considerably once more, with a good portion of the sales reported this week being old sales that have only now come to light”, said the shipbroker.

Meanwhile, in the demolition market, “all older tonnage has firmed due to increased scrap rates”, said VV. Allied added that “despite the turmoil being seen in the Indian Sub Continent with regards to shifts in safety regulations, the market seemed to have gained further ground with prices on offer by most shipbreakers having quickly recuperated any losses noted in the weeks prior and have also gone beyond any price levels noted over the past twelve months. Demo candidates circulated in the market are still relatively few in numbers, pushing end buyers to be more aggressive as they try to satisfy their increased appetite. At the same time local steel prices are still holding firm, with demand for scrap steel keep relatively hot thanks to the increased demands from local steel producers. Despite the positive movements being noted, a touch of caution should be held as the market is still fairly fragile as it now depends heavily on any decisions to be made from local regulators, though to what extent this will have a negative impact on the overall market is debatable as any new regulations are likely to more heavily focus on tanker vessels which currently take up a very small fraction of the total activity being concluded”, the shipbroker concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Despite the fact that shipyards are closing left and right on a lack of newbuilding contracting activity, while even the biggest “names” are reeling under the pressure, prices are still holding their ground. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “there is still no shift on the price front despite the ever growing pressure being placed on shipbuilders. New orders continue to be few and far between and the way the orderbook to fleet ratio is going it looks as though we will start to see ever more shipbuilders being under increasing pressure by their financiers and investors as their operations reach or even in some cases drop below minimal operational volume. What is more worrisome for shipbuilders is that without the ability to offer a substantial discount on prices compared to what they are offering today it will continue to be hard to entice new buyers and compete with the secondhand market. This will be the case even if we see notable price increases in in markets such as those of the dry bulk secondhand market”, said Allied Shipbroking.

Meanwhile, in the S&P market, ship valuations specialist VesselsValue said that in the tanker market, values have remained stable versus the past week. “Aframax tankers the British Merlin (114,800 DWT, 2003, Samsung) and British Curlew (114,800 DWT, 2004, Samsung) were sold by BP in an en bloc deal for USD 29.2 mil, VV value USD 29.53 mil causing a slight softening in values”, VV said. Similarly, on the dry bulk market, Capesize and Panamax values have remained stable over the past week. According to VV, “Capesize vessel the Bulk Singapore (177,200 DWT, 2005, Namura) was sold by Celeste Holding Pte for USD 12 mil, VV value USD 11.13 mil causing a firming in values. 6 Supramax sales took place this week causing a softening in values. The K Coral and K Amber (58,000 DWT, 2010, Dayang Shipbuilding Co) we sold by SK Shipping for USD 8.7 mil and USD 8.3 mil respectively. VV valued the vessels USD 9.58 mil and USD 9.57 mil respectively. Indigo Spera (56,100 DWT, 2011, Mitsui Ichihara) sold for USD 12.9 mil, VV value USD 13.82 mil.Jupiter (57,000 DWT, 2008, Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Ind) sold for USD 6.5 mil, VV value USD 7.98 mil. RHL Catalina (53,600 DWT, 2002, Iwagi Zosen) sold USD 4.8 mil, VV value USD 5.51 mil. Handy values have seen a firming in values for older tonnage due to the sales of the Sider Caribe (32,300 DWT, 2009, Kanda) sold for USD 8.3 mil, VV value USD 8 mil. East Ambition (28,400 DWT, 2000, Naikai Setoda) sold for USD 3.8 mil, VV value USD 2.71 million, “said VV.

Finally, in the container segment, the shipping valuations expert said that values have remained relatively stable with a softening in Post Panamax values. A 7-year-old Panamax the India Rickmers (4,250 TEU, 2009 blt, Jiangsu New Yangzijiang) was sold for scrap last week, maintained VV, while Rickmers itself has denied the said claim.

Meanwhile, in a separate note on the S&P market, Allied Shipbroking said that “on the dry bulk side, activity continues firm and it looks as though the upward pressure on prices has finally started to show face. With optimism held thanks to the much improved rates being seen now and many buyers looking at 2017 with a more favorable light, the willingness to place slight premiums on last done levels is becoming more and more the typical pattern. There is still a bit more to go before we start to see significant increases being noted, especially on the more modern tonnage, however the trend is there and seems to be gaining pace. On the tanker side, things are still fairly slow on the activity front and despite the recent improvements seen in the freight market thanks to the seasonal demand increases, buyers are still not there to heavily compete on vessels circulating them market at these levels. It will take a while for confidence to recover after the big drop noted in the summer and many are waiting for OPECs final plan to action”, the shipbroker concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Despite the fact that shipyards are closing left and right on a lack of newbuilding contracting activity, while even the biggest “names” are reeling under the pressure, prices are still holding their ground. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “there is still no shift on the price front despite the ever growing pressure being placed on shipbuilders. New orders continue to be few and far between and the way the orderbook to fleet ratio is going it looks as though we will start to see ever more shipbuilders being under increasing pressure by their financiers and investors as their operations reach or even in some cases drop below minimal operational volume. What is more worrisome for shipbuilders is that without the ability to offer a substantial discount on prices compared to what they are offering today it will continue to be hard to entice new buyers and compete with the secondhand market. This will be the case even if we see notable price increases in in markets such as those of the dry bulk secondhand market”, said Allied Shipbroking.

Meanwhile, in the S&P market, ship valuations specialist VesselsValue said that in the tanker market, values have remained stable versus the past week. “Aframax tankers the British Merlin (114,800 DWT, 2003, Samsung) and British Curlew (114,800 DWT, 2004, Samsung) were sold by BP in an en bloc deal for USD 29.2 mil, VV value USD 29.53 mil causing a slight softening in values”, VV said. Similarly, on the dry bulk market, Capesize and Panamax values have remained stable over the past week. According to VV, “Capesize vessel the Bulk Singapore (177,200 DWT, 2005, Namura) was sold by Celeste Holding Pte for USD 12 mil, VV value USD 11.13 mil causing a firming in values. 6 Supramax sales took place this week causing a softening in values. The K Coral and K Amber (58,000 DWT, 2010, Dayang Shipbuilding Co) we sold by SK Shipping for USD 8.7 mil and USD 8.3 mil respectively. VV valued the vessels USD 9.58 mil and USD 9.57 mil respectively. Indigo Spera (56,100 DWT, 2011, Mitsui Ichihara) sold for USD 12.9 mil, VV value USD 13.82 mil.Jupiter (57,000 DWT, 2008, Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Ind) sold for USD 6.5 mil, VV value USD 7.98 mil. RHL Catalina (53,600 DWT, 2002, Iwagi Zosen) sold USD 4.8 mil, VV value USD 5.51 mil. Handy values have seen a firming in values for older tonnage due to the sales of the Sider Caribe (32,300 DWT, 2009, Kanda) sold for USD 8.3 mil, VV value USD 8 mil. East Ambition (28,400 DWT, 2000, Naikai Setoda) sold for USD 3.8 mil, VV value USD 2.71 million, “said VV.

Finally, in the container segment, the shipping valuations expert said that values have remained relatively stable with a softening in Post Panamax values. A 7-year-old Panamax the India Rickmers (4,250 TEU, 2009 blt, Jiangsu New Yangzijiang) was sold for scrap last week, maintained VV, while Rickmers itself has denied the said claim.

Meanwhile, in a separate note on the S&P market, Allied Shipbroking said that “on the dry bulk side, activity continues firm and it looks as though the upward pressure on prices has finally started to show face. With optimism held thanks to the much improved rates being seen now and many buyers looking at 2017 with a more favorable light, the willingness to place slight premiums on last done levels is becoming more and more the typical pattern. There is still a bit more to go before we start to see significant increases being noted, especially on the more modern tonnage, however the trend is there and seems to be gaining pace. On the tanker side, things are still fairly slow on the activity front and despite the recent improvements seen in the freight market thanks to the seasonal demand increases, buyers are still not there to heavily compete on vessels circulating them market at these levels. It will take a while for confidence to recover after the big drop noted in the summer and many are waiting for OPECs final plan to action”, the shipbroker concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Despite the fact that shipyards are closing left and right on a lack of newbuilding contracting activity, while even the biggest “names” are reeling under the pressure, prices are still holding their ground. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “there is still no shift on the price front despite the ever growing pressure being placed on shipbuilders. New orders continue to be few and far between and the way the orderbook to fleet ratio is going it looks as though we will start to see ever more shipbuilders being under increasing pressure by their financiers and investors as their operations reach or even in some cases drop below minimal operational volume. What is more worrisome for shipbuilders is that without the ability to offer a substantial discount on prices compared to what they are offering today it will continue to be hard to entice new buyers and compete with the secondhand market. This will be the case even if we see notable price increases in in markets such as those of the dry bulk secondhand market”, said Allied Shipbroking.

Meanwhile, in the S&P market, ship valuations specialist VesselsValue said that in the tanker market, values have remained stable versus the past week. “Aframax tankers the British Merlin (114,800 DWT, 2003, Samsung) and British Curlew (114,800 DWT, 2004, Samsung) were sold by BP in an en bloc deal for USD 29.2 mil, VV value USD 29.53 mil causing a slight softening in values”, VV said. Similarly, on the dry bulk market, Capesize and Panamax values have remained stable over the past week. According to VV, “Capesize vessel the Bulk Singapore (177,200 DWT, 2005, Namura) was sold by Celeste Holding Pte for USD 12 mil, VV value USD 11.13 mil causing a firming in values. 6 Supramax sales took place this week causing a softening in values. The K Coral and K Amber (58,000 DWT, 2010, Dayang Shipbuilding Co) we sold by SK Shipping for USD 8.7 mil and USD 8.3 mil respectively. VV valued the vessels USD 9.58 mil and USD 9.57 mil respectively. Indigo Spera (56,100 DWT, 2011, Mitsui Ichihara) sold for USD 12.9 mil, VV value USD 13.82 mil.Jupiter (57,000 DWT, 2008, Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Ind) sold for USD 6.5 mil, VV value USD 7.98 mil. RHL Catalina (53,600 DWT, 2002, Iwagi Zosen) sold USD 4.8 mil, VV value USD 5.51 mil. Handy values have seen a firming in values for older tonnage due to the sales of the Sider Caribe (32,300 DWT, 2009, Kanda) sold for USD 8.3 mil, VV value USD 8 mil. East Ambition (28,400 DWT, 2000, Naikai Setoda) sold for USD 3.8 mil, VV value USD 2.71 million, “said VV.

Finally, in the container segment, the shipping valuations expert said that values have remained relatively stable with a softening in Post Panamax values. A 7-year-old Panamax the India Rickmers (4,250 TEU, 2009 blt, Jiangsu New Yangzijiang) was sold for scrap last week, maintained VV, while Rickmers itself has denied the said claim.

Meanwhile, in a separate note on the S&P market, Allied Shipbroking said that “on the dry bulk side, activity continues firm and it looks as though the upward pressure on prices has finally started to show face. With optimism held thanks to the much improved rates being seen now and many buyers looking at 2017 with a more favorable light, the willingness to place slight premiums on last done levels is becoming more and more the typical pattern. There is still a bit more to go before we start to see significant increases being noted, especially on the more modern tonnage, however the trend is there and seems to be gaining pace. On the tanker side, things are still fairly slow on the activity front and despite the recent improvements seen in the freight market thanks to the seasonal demand increases, buyers are still not there to heavily compete on vessels circulating them market at these levels. It will take a while for confidence to recover after the big drop noted in the summer and many are waiting for OPECs final plan to action”, the shipbroker concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide