20 February 2018

GMS Market Commentary on Shipbreaking in Week 07 - PAKISTAN POTENTIAL

Last week, on the back of a meeting between the Pakistan Ship Breakers Association (PSBA) and local authorities, ongoing rumors surrounding a potential Pakistan re-opening for tankers within the next month began to further intensify. The news may well be greeted with the usual degree of outlandish Cash Buyer speculation that we have frequently seen through the course of the recent past. However, the reality is that Pakistan is a market that too has softened in recent weeks and an influx of tanker candidates is hardly going to help in boosting levels from Gadani Buyers.

That being said, Sinokor of South Korea continued their clear-out of older tonnage with the sales of a Capesize bulker (a highly sought after and rare breed of vessels these days) in addition to an Aframax tanker, at some unsurprisingly bullish numbers.

Moreover, given the spate of fixtures through 2018, there was of course, another VLCC concluded on private terms this week, to swell the growing ranks of unsold tonnage out there, and perhaps another sign that Cash Buyer confidence on a Pakistan reopening may be well-founded.

Meanwhile, pricing has remained stagnant for several weeks now, with marginal declines witnessed in both India & Pakistan and Bangladesh just about holding onto their levels, through what has been an overall underwhelming start to the year for Chittagong buyers.

Finally, Chinese New Year holidays have certainly interrupted the flow of deals and deliveries (as minimal as they have been) this week and it may be a stilted week ahead as people slowly drift back to work from their various holidays.

Source: steel guru. 20 February 2018

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