Demo rates have crashed through the $400 barrier for the first time since April 2015. With scant tonnage heading to the beaches, buyers in South Asia have been pitching ever more aggressive prices for what ever ships become available. German broker Zachariassen reports that Turkey’s Melton Commercial Trading has offloaded a 1989-built LPG carrier, Gas Magic, to Indian buyers for $420 per ldt. The deal comes with 700 tons of bunkers too.
Zachariassen in its latest weekly report also carries news that Essar Shipping of India has sold its 1989 capesize Chandi Prasad to Pakistani interests for $400 per ldt, a price that another broker, Intermodal, has put at $390 however.
“[E]veryone wonders how long will this rally last for, while it is no wonder that competition among breakers has strengthened amidst a firming dry bulk freight market that has negatively impacted demolition activity in the sector,” Intermodal noted in its most recent weekly report.