The expected rebound in secondhand bulker sale and purchase market after the summer lull has yet to come, amid continued poor freight rates in the chartering market.
According to Alibra, the period chartering market for dry bulkers has yet to pick up and rates have continued to fall for capesizes, while supramax demand in the Atlantic has been slightly stronger in the last few days although rates continue to move sideways.
“On the dry side, things were quieter these past few days, with just a handful of transactions being reported. It seems as though the recent downward spiral noted from the side of earnings, as well as, the summer lull, which seemingly hasn’t faded away yet, can be seen as the main culprits of the current state in the market. However, given the robust market fundamentals and the general positive sentiment, we may well expect things to gear up once more, with a stable flow transactions and healthy appetite taking hold,” Allied Shipbroking said in its latest weekly report.
Allied Shipbroking, Advanced Shipping & Trading and Lorentzen & Stemoco all listed the sale of the 2011-built 92,000 dwt post-panamax bulker Talia. As reported by Splash, Greek owner W Marine has bought the Chinese-built carrier from Italy’s Zacchello Group for a price of around $17m.
In another deal reported on Splash, more than six shipbroking houses reported a deal in which Taiwanese owner Sincere Navigation has sold its 2003-built 172,400 dwt capesize bulker Mineral Antwerpen. The South Korean-built vessel has been sold to Greek interest for $14m.
Intermodal listed an en bloc sale deal of two 2009-built 56,000 dwt supramax bulkers, JPO Delphinus and JPO Dorado. The two Chinese-built vessels have been sold by German owner Oltmann Schiffarhts to Chinese interests for a high price of $9m each.
“On the wet side, a more active week on a w-o-w basis, with buying appetite seeming ample for the time being. As it has been mentioned already, the poor freight market performance leaves little room for further enthusiasm, so the main interest is solely focused on what seems as the ‘right’ opportunity for the time being. Given though the existing interest levels, the sentiment being expressed by buyers is still pointing to an overall bullish view for the near term,” Allied Shipbroking said.
Advanced Shipping & Trading and Lorentzen & Stemoco both reported the sale of the 2002-built 34,801 dwt MR tanker Maersk Rhode Island. The Chinese-built vessel is said to have been sold by Maersk Tankers to Italian owner Adriatic Shipping for a price of $7m.
Banchero Costa and Advanced Shipping & Trading listed the sale of the 1998-built 19,000 dwt chemical product tanker Kristin Knutsen. Chinese owner Seacon Shipping has acquired the Spanish-built tanker from Norwegian owner Knutsen OAS Shipping. The vessel fetched a price of $6.2m.
Allied Shipbroking and Optima also reported a resale deal of two 158,000 dwt suezmax tankers under construction at Hyundai Samho. The two scrubber-fitted vessels Hull S874 and Hull S875 were originally ordered by Greek owner Top Ships and are now taken over by another Greek owner Polembros. The delivery of the vessels is scheduled for next year.
The sale and purchase market for secondhand containerships remained muted for the past week.
Braemar ACM Shipbroking reckons part of the reason is that sellers’ ideas remain slightly distant from what buyers are currently wanting to pay.
“With charter rates stable but depressed compared to where they were before the summer lull, it will be interesting to see what benchmarks are set by the vessels currently being worked and whether these prices encourage more buyers to return to the market,” Braemar ACM Shipbroking said in its weekly container briefing.
