After a turbulent period, the dry bulk market’s prospects seem to be back on track. Shipbrokers are reporting higher availability of finance, key to more S&P deals being concluded, in a time when freight rates seem to have stabilized again. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “the shipping industry is going through an interesting period across all markets. Since the end of last year, the Dry Baltic Index has been showing signs of stability with the BDI averaging from1,300 to 1,400 points. From the looks of it, most participants in the dry bulk market are enjoying this relative stability, coming from a period of intense uncertainty and little room for future business planning and developments”.
According to Mr. Konstantinos Kontomichis, SnP Broker with Intermodal, “a year later and despite the recent weakness in the Capesize market, we can confidently state that momentum has improved and is better for everyone, especially for ship owners. With various forms of finance being currently available to shipowners in addition to healthy freight rates it is a conclusively a better environment. It is important to note that during the past ten years we rarely witnessed simultaneously healthy freight rates, multiple financial options and available vessels for sale, something that the current market is offering. These conditions have been favored a lot by the new regulations entering into force together with the challenging new technologies that have to be applied to existing vessels in order to limit emissions. Drawing closer to the deadline for the implementation of new regulations (BWTS & IMO 2020) there are growing concerns on how these are going to be implemented, a subject widely discussed across shipping forums worldwide”, Kontomichis noted.
Intermodal’s analyst added that “despite stronger expectations for the last quarter of the year, the BDI has been under a lot pf pressure during the past days in particular due to the substantial fall in Capesize earnings. Despite decent resistance from the rest of the sizes, the drop in earnings for the big bulkers has been certainly impacting sentiment negatively, with owners hoping that this is just an over-reaction to Cape specific events and that sooner rather than later the market will start performing once again under more normal conditions”.
Kontomichis added that “focusing on the SnP side, sale candidates remain plenty, with Japanese vessels up to five years old are reported to be sold even before their candidacy becomes known in the market, as demand for such tonnage is extremely high and prices have remained overall stable. Buyers are currently more in control with their appetite remaining strong for every possible opportunity that may arise”.
“Vintage Handysize units are also very popular, with focus witnessed on vessels between 16 to 23 years old, where prices remain on the high side given the age range. This is occurring because there are not so many similar vessels left in the market and there is a distinctive lack of available Handysize vessels up to 12/13 years old in the market (as there are is a limited number of such vessels built). It is also interesting to note that a large number of Far Eastern buyers, with most of them being Chinese, are the ones currently inspecting and offering for these older vessels. This trend comes into opposition with end of summer expectations, when the change of the Chinese regulations regarding the import of Tier II vessels was introduced and which appears to have had a much softer effect on SnP activity than what was initially expected”, Intermodal’s broker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
