In Hellenic Shipping News 14/12/2016
Ship owners are still refraining from placing more newbuilding orders, despite the fact that over the course of the past few weeks, the contracting activity seems to have picked up pace, even if it’s by a small margin. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “the “trickling” rate of new orders continues on and will likely hold for some time, with the few numbers surfacing still focusing primarily on specialized vessels. There are very few buyers out there with keen interest and as pointed out numerous times, prices are still comparably too high to really entice any serious interest and at the same time market optimism is no where near enough to drive for any exuberance in market conditions at the time of delivery of any new order being placed today. Caution amongst buyers is only one side of the problem being faced, with lack in availability for cheap finance also playing a key role here as well. Things are on a real squeeze now, with the orderbook having thinned out considerably and with scheduled deliveries for 2018 being very few in number, it looks as though the new year will see a lot of shipbuilder “casualties”, as it is hard to see how so many can survive in such a low ordering environment”.
In a separate note on the S&P market this past week, VesselsValue noted that in the tanker market, “older tankers have seen a firming in value due to an increase in scaping rate. The Gener8 Spyridon (160,000 DWT, 2000, HHI) sold to Avin International for USD 14.2 mil vs VV value of USD 13.14 million”. In the dry bulk market, “bulkers have seen a firming across all ages and ship types. Hull 131 Jinhai (180,000 DWT, 2016, Jinhai Heavy Industry Co) sold to Marmaras Navigation for USD 28.3 mil vs a VV value of USD 27.46 mil. Aurora Christine (46,700 DWT, 2000, Kanasashi) sold to Waruna Nusa Sentana from Newlead Holdings for USD 4.9 mil vs VV value USD 3.42 million”. Similarly, in the container segment, VV said that “2006-2010 Panamax container values have firmed slightly this week. The Hanjin Rio de Janeiro, Hanjin Piraeus, Hanjin Norfolk, Hanjin Durban (4275 TEU,2008, Samsung) were sold via bank sale to KMTC for USD 5.6 mil vs VV value of USD 5.23 million”, the ships’ valuations expert noted.
Meanwhile, according to Allied, on the S&P market this week, “on the dry bulk side, activity was stronger this week, with a considerable number of Capes changing hands. Some of these were part of enbloc deals, some of which where a continuation of the Hanjin Sell off. Nevertheless, it looks as though things are heating up on the secondhand market, with prices already reflecting this increased interest and bullish sentiment noted amongst buyers in the market. Expectations are for a continuation of this drive into the New Year, with a possible pause around the Christmas holidays and Chinese New Year, while if the freight market shows a positive sign there after, there is a shared belief that things will strengthen very quickly. On the tanker side, there were a couple of notable deals to be seen, though limited focus continues to be seen on the larger crude oil carriers. Prices are still showing signs of weakening further, while the fluctuations in the freight market are causing a touch of caution amongst potential buyers”, the shipbroker mentioned.
In the demolition market, Allied said that “it seemed to be showing some slight signs of renewed life, with buying interest amongst end buyers in the Indian Sub-Continent being at slightly better levels despite limited evidence of this being seen in terms of activity this week. Prices are yet to show considerable strength beyond the average levels they had been seeing these past two months. This may well start to change, although without the active support from Pakistani breakers the market will continue to lack the sufficient appetite levels to really intensify competition amongst bidders and boost prices being offered. On the commodity front there is support for slightly better scrap price levels to be seen, while given the recent trends there is an expectation that demand for scrap steel will be relatively firm moving forward”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
