The appeal of the flexibility which comes with the investment in a second hand vessels, seems to be too hard to resist for many ship owners, especially since freight rates for dry bulk carriers have rebounded to more sustainable levels. According to the latest weekly report from shipbroker Allied Shipbroking, “volatility and continuous ups and downs are becoming a permanent scene in the newbuilding market. This week’s activity came with a huge dose of disappointment for those who expected things to continue on a positive track after what we witnessed the week prior, and the bullish sentiment that had started to emerge amongst shipbuilders. It is true that the freight market has not helped much lately. Tankers have seen some minor upward corrections, though overall they still remain at relatively bearish level, especially when taking into consideration the overall outlook being expressed by most. The dry bulk freight market on the other side, had shown a strong face during the rally that was noted from the summer and has built a positive overall outlook, but the downward trends lately have clearly caused many to fret and is surely bringing on a partial break on further new ordering interest. The uncertainty overwhelming the majority of the market obviously doesn’t leave enough room for high expectations, but before the end of the final quarter, we still expect to see many more new orders take place. The likelihood however, for the development of yet another overwhelming orderbook developing in the final part of the year, is quickly being debunked”, said Allied.

In a separate newbuilding note, perhaps indicative of the ups and downs of the market, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas noted that there was “just one order to report this week with Log-In Logistica (Brazil) placing a contract for one firm plus one option 2,700 TEU feeder vessels at Huangpu Wenchong shipyard. The firm vessel is due to be delivered in April 2019. Whilst various discussions are ongoing, particularly in dry, no further orders to report this week”.

Meanwhile, in the S&P Market this week, Allied said that “on the dry bulk side, it seems to have been a week with focus on very modern tonnage with a considerable number of relatively modern tonnage changing hands. It seems to be that activity was limited to only Panamax and Supramax vessels, with the latter also showing a fairly strong increase in buying appetite. Prices continue to hold steady and it seems as though this will continue to be the case for most size segments for the near term as we started to get mixed messages from the freight market. On the tanker side, the market took on some positive developments, with an increase being seen in terms of activity and more specifically for the larger crude oil carriers. This is a partial break from the general trend that had been noted over the past couple of months and an overall absence of sales in the Suezmax segment. Prices are still a major deterrent for most sellers, while buyers have still to show any appetite for firmer levels than what we are seeing right now”.

Similarly, in its latest weekly note, ships’ valuations expert VesselsValue said that “the tanker sector remains stable this week, with MR values seeing a very slight firming as earnings continue to rise. Aframax Singapore Voyager (106,100 DWT, Jan 2003, Namura) sold for USD 10.4 mil, VV value USD 10.44 mil. MR2 Tanker Fidias (50,000 DWT, Jun 2007, STX Offshore) sold for USD 16.5 mil, VV value USD 16.73 million”.

In the dry bulk market, bulker values remained stable this week following a number of sales in the sector. VV said that “four Panamax bulkers bought by 2020 Bulkers, on 30 day subs, includes; Ocean Forte (81,600 DWT, Jan 2015), Ocean Integrity (82,000 DWT, Apr 2015), Ocean Vision (81,500 DWT, Jun 2015) and Ocean Ambition (82,000 DWT, Sep 2015) all built at Longxue, sold en bloc for USD 91.0 mil, VV value en bloc USD 83.24 mil. Panamax Archigetis (81,100 DWT, Aug 2011, Hyundai Heavy Ind) sold for USD 20.0 mil, VV value USD 19.31 mil. Supramax Alam Makmur (55,900 DWT, Mar 2015, Mitsui Ichihara) sold for USD 21.0 mil, VV value USD 21.15 million”, VV concluded.