The bargain hunters made another round of acquisitions this week in the secondhand bulker S&P market with the hope that the capesize market has bottomed out, while the tanker S&P market saw a downward correction this week with the coronavirus casting a shadow on the VLCC market. Owners and charterers are waiting for more clarity before making decisions.
“There are hopes that the capesize market has finally bottomed out as the BDI ticked up very slightly this week and on the period side, a couple of fixtures were reported around the one-year market although levels remain low,” Alibra said in its latest weekly report.
According to Alibra, mixed sentiment for the kamsarmax/panamax sector has kept activity muted, a few period fixtures having been reported ranging from six to 18 months, while the smaller sizes saw another quiet week with little period activity reported.
“On the dry bulk side, a fair volume of transactions came to light for yet another week, with a good number of units changing hands especially for the bigger size segments. The good momentum in terms of total activity during the past couple of weeks or so is still surprising, given the very pessimistic atmosphere noted from the side of earnings, as well as from the notable commercial hurdles that have been put up by the virus outbreak. We do however see a slow shift in buying interest, with most now looking to focus more on any bargain deals that may emerge rather than face current price levels,” Allied Shipbroking said.
Intermodal, Allied Shipbroking and Lorentzen & Stemoco all listed a deal in which Greek owner Navios Maritime sold its 2002-built 76,700 dwt panamax bulker Navios Star. The Japanese-built vessel was sold to Chinese buyers for about $6m.
Lorentzen & Stemoco and Allied Shipbroking both listed the sale of the 2002-built 50,000 dwt supramax bulker Arcadia. The Chinese-built vessel was sold by Greek owner Alloceans Shipping to Chinese buyers for $4.8m.
“On the tankers side, a slight correction in total volume was noted during the past week. This came rather attuned with the downward correction in freight rates noted of late. Witnessing this hefty negative pressure from the side of earnings, it is yet to be seen if we experience a similarly pessimistic trajectory on the overall sentiment and buying appetite during the coming weeks,” Allied Shipbroking said.
“As with much else these days it’s all about the coronavirus in the VLCC market. With oil trading reduced for the lack of buying interest, charters are by and large left with fixed contact lifting, thereby tilting the supply/demand picture further in disfavour of the owning side,” Fearnleys said in its weekly report.
Intermodal, Allied Shipbroking and Advanced Shipping & Trading all listed the en bloc sale of two 2011-built 19,000 dwt product tankers Adfines Star and Adfines Sea. Swiss owner ABC Maritime sold the two Chinese-built vessels to Canadian buyers for a price of $12m each.
Mutiple shipbroking houses reported the sale of the 2005 South Korean-built MR tanker Cape Beira. The vessel was sold to Nigerian interest sfor a price of $10m.
Several shipbroking houses reported the sale of the 2002-built 159,000 dwt handy tanker SCF Khibiny while Advanced Shipping & Trading identified the buyer as Greek owner Sea Pioneer. The South Korean-built vesselfetched a price of $18.8m.
The secondhand containership sale and purchase market once again saw increased activities this past week.
Alphaliner reported that Lithuania-based Limarko Shipping Company has purchased 2007-built 1,118 teu Vega Epsilon from Vega Reederei for a price around $3.7m.
Allied Shipbroking and Lorentzen & Stemoco both reported that German owner Thomas Schulte sold two 2007-built 2,824 teu feeder boxships, MS Eagle and MS Hawk, to undisclosed interests for $9m each.
