After what has
been a rather dour period for the international ship recycling markets, the
first glimmers of stability finally started to emerge last week.
After local steel plate
prices declined by almost $50 per ldt, currencies battled a firming US dollar
and recycled steel from ships imported over the summer months, increasingly
failed to shift from domestic yards (resulting in growing stockpiles), the
stabilising prices are a welcome breath of fresh air, especially to cash buyers
and shipowners who are still looking to offload their prospective units, GMS
said in its weekly roundup.
Over several weeks, China
has entered into a state of artificial stasis as the Communist Party Conference
continues locally. However, with news that President Xi is undertaking another
five-year stay at the helm, hopes are high that this will in turn, help boost
the domestic economy once again. For the time being however, many industries
(including the domestic ship-recycling sector) have been in lockdown whilst all
eyes fall on Beijing as the seldom seen Communist Party Conference concludes.
The ship recycling market in
China has also endured a near and total shut down as officials attempt to
tackle pollution/environmental concerns and bring figures in line with what is
expected to be the outcome of this critical conference. The ongoing shut down
has now resulted in levels declining by about $30 per ldt, subsequently
securing China’s tail-end position in the market rankings. The domestic steel
industry has also been sluggish and this has had a knock on effect on some of
the competing markets.
As indications from the
various markets have slipped over the recent weeks and Pakistan is now the only
market where an $+400 per ldt offer can be expected for the right unit, it is
safe to presume that the industry overall is now a sub-$400/tonne sector. Given
that the supply of tonnage (especially from the drybulk and container sectors)
has diminished considerably of late, an overall slowdown of potential
candidates may help revive prices in the near future, GMS concluded.
Brokers reported that the
1995-built MR ‘Admiral 1’ had been committed to Bangladesh recyclers at an
unknown price level, while Indian recyclers were said to have taken the
1990-built Handysize ‘Champion’ for $395 per ldt.
Source:
tanker
operator. 03 November 2017
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