ContainersDry Cargo

Weekly Broker: Panamaxes lead the revival

As sub-cape ship sizes claw back earnings on the dry bulk side owners have been more willing this week to open their wallets for a number of bulker bargains – the shock of the first two months of 2019 seems to have finally subsided in this sector, even if capesizes continue to languish in near record territory.

Meanwhile, an active S&P scene in the tanker sphere has see additional price premiums registered in most segments of the sector.

In the chartering market, according to Intermodal, the dry bulk market remains split, with capes witnessing further discounts and earnings for the rest of the sizes covering more of the ground lost during the past couple of months. The fact that dry bulk rates have been moving in two different directions has been particularly evident in the admittedly busy period market in the past week, with significant premiums noted for all sizes except capes. In the tanker chartering market, extended VLCC gains provided support to crude carriers, while improved sentiment supported period rates across the entire tanker sector, with premiums seen for almost all sizes.

“On the dry bulk side, a healthy flow of transactions came to light during the past week, with the main focus seemingly being for panamax size vessels. This is in line somehow with what is being noted on the side of earnings, leaving expectations for further activity to take place over the coming weeks. Moreover, given the anticipated stabilisation of the market at some point in the near future, it will be interesting to see how things develop on the side of prices,” Allied Shipbroking said in its weekly report.

This week, Splash reported Vietnamese owner Tan Binh bought the 2004-built handy bulker Estia from Greek owner Ulises for $5.9m.

Andreas J. Zachariassen, Allied Shipbroking and Intermodal reported a deal in which German owner Oldendorff sold its 2011 Chinese-built 32,500 dwt handysize bulker Lucy Oldendorff to Hong Kong-based buyers for an undisclosed price on the basis of a four-year bareboat hire purchase agreement.

Advanced Shipping & Trading, Allied Shipbroking, Banchero Costa, and Lion Shipbroking all listed the sale of the 2004-built 27,800 dwt handy bulker Hanse Gate. German owner Johs Thode sold the lakes-fitted vessel to Turkish interests for $4.55m. The deal is part of the German owner’s insolvency sale. Following the sale, Johs Thode has cleared out its entire bulker fleet and is left with three feeder containerships.

“On the tankers side, we witnessed a considerable boost in volume, nourished once again almost exclusively by the MR segment, with buying appetite seemingly abundant for the time being. Here, we most probably will continue to see a fair number of units changing hands, backed by the overall positive view being seen in terms of earnings as well as the much better prospects being reflected right now as part of the IMO 2020 regulation,” Allied Shipbroking said.

Splash has already reported two tanker sales this week – Chinese owner Kunlun Shipping acquired the 2002-built VLCC Gulf Glory and Greek owner Falcon Navigation snapped up the 2008-built MR tanker Isola Bianca.

More than eight shipbroking houses reported the sale of the 2009-built 53,600 dwt MR tanker High Force. Danish owner Celsius Shipping is said to have taken over the Japanese-built vessel from Japanese owner Fukujin Kisen for a price of $16.4m. Last month, Celsius Shipping acquired another 2009-built MR tanker, High Strength, from DM Shipping for the same price.

Lorentzen & Stemoco, Lion Shipbroking and Advanced Shipping & Trading all listed the sale of the 1999-built 44,000 dwt handy tanker Chiltern. The vessel was sold by UK owner Union Maritime to Indian owner Seven Islands for a price of $6m.

In the secondhand containership sale and purchase market, according to Braemar ACM Shipbroking, German owner H Schepers’ 2006-built 2,450 teu Helene S was sold to Indonesian buyers at $9.3m in a bank driven sale.

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.
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