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Across the board September’s sale and purchase volumes have been on the slide. While each sector has differing reasons for the reduction in activity, an overarching theme this month is in the clear drop in appetite for risk from lenders as well as owners looking to expand at a time where the news is rammed full for doom-laden headlines on the state of the global economy. The tanker sector - the current golden child of shipping - was stymied this month more because market participants cannot adjust fast enough to what real valuations are for this overly bullish segment. “Ascertaining tanker asset values is fast becoming a game of pin the tail on the donkey as sale prices leapfrog last-done levels,” commented brokers Gibson in a recent market report. Ascertaining tanker asset values is fast becoming a game of pin the tail on the donkey as sale prices leapfrog last-done levels Some 47 secondhand tanker transactions have been reported in September so far, down 36% from August’s total of 74 sales, according to VesselsValue. Handy tankers remain the favoured candidates on the market with 16 sales across MR1 and MR2 types. Headline tanker transactions included the sale of the 17-year-old Tema VLCC to undisclosed buyers for $34m, while Sweden’s Concordia Maritime sold three 16-year-old product tankers - , and - en bloc to an undisclosed European buyer for a very firm $60m. In dry bulk, which has been struggling to gain any market assertiveness for many months now, sale and purchase volumes remained quiet. “Following on from dismal performance in August, September was another lacklustre month with only 26 bulkers sold, the majority of which were sold to undisclosed buyers as the market remains suspiciously secretive,” an update from VesselsValue stated. This represents a drop of 21.2% compared to the 33 bulkers reported sold in August. Since the start of the month 10-year-old cape values have fallen 7.3% and the worst effected - handies - have fallen 8.7%. Overall, year-on-year bulker activity is down a massive 71%. Among key deals done in September, acquisitive $29.65m paid a firm $29.65m for an all too rare cape deal, adding the 10-year-old to its fleet, while the 11-year-old Buenos Aires was sold to unknown Greek buyers for $21m. September has been a horror show for the container sector with spot and contract freight rates dropping and charter rate graphs taking on cliff-like appearances. Given the dramatically changed circumstances, only three ships are recorded as changing hands thus far this month with owners and charterers waiting to see how quickly rates decline before negotiating new deals. The 16-year-old 4,506 teu managed to drum up a very solid $60m in one of the few sales concluded. Despite the grim prognosis espoused by many container experts in recent weeks, there are some who believe containership sales could fire back soon. Braemar, indicating that prices have dipped, suggested on Monday this might actually be a time for some players to increase their positions. "As we head into the fourth quarter of 2022, which will likely be more volatile than previous months, the S&P market may well be busier than headlines would have you believe,” Braemar posited.

S&P pause

Each sector has differing reasons for the drop in ship sales activity this month as Splash Extra explains.

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