15 July 2012

Ship scrapping prices fall 13% on oversupply:

[SHANGHAI] Scrap prices for dry-bulk ships have plunged 13 per cent in the past year as oversupply and unprofitable charter rates prompt owners to demolish vessels at a record pace.

Shipbreakers paid about US$425 a ton for commodity carriers last month, compared with US$490 a year earlier, based on Clarkson plc data. The tonnage sold in the first half rose 25 per cent from a year earlier to 16.2 million tons, according to Clarkson, the world's biggest shipbroker.

A 34 per cent surge in fuel prices over the past two years has spurred scrapping as older vessels tend to consume more oil than newer ones. Prices have been further cut by the rupee's plunge in the past year, the worst among Asian currencies.

India vies with China as the world's largest market for shipbreaking.

Source: Business Times. 13 July 2012

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