Shipbreaking News

The anticipated / ongoing seasonal slowdown in activity coupled with softening vessel prices has clearly started to characterize the year’s summer / monsoon mess across the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets, reports cash buyer GMS.“However, the 2024 version not only includes the incessant rains and a holiday-time for yard workers, but also ongoing global descent via boots on the ground warfare and an economic tumult that has double downed and unsustainably maintained…

It has been another tentative time in the global ship recycling markets as overall this week, reports cash buyer GMS, as sale and purchase activity and local arrivals / deliveries reported minimal movements at the various waterfronts.Indian sub-continent ship recyclers are approaching the monsoon season with a ‘wait-&-watch’ mindset prior to committing afresh on tonnage, especially since virtually all sub-continent recyclers have taken in their respectable shares of tonnage over…

Vessel prices are already down by about USD 20 – USD 25 / LDT, reports cash buyer GMS, as further decline is expected in the first half of July as previously forecast.Shipowners and cash buyers are now chasing down a declining market, and recyclers are facing exacerbating economic challenges. Not only are local steel plate prices in shambles, but currencies are also taking tumbles at key destinations and have unexpectedly delivered a monsoon retreat for industry players who are looking to conclude business at the various ship recycling destinations…

Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, reports that ship supply is expected to grow on average 10.3% in 2024 and 5.3% in 2025. After increasing in 2024, sailing speeds are expected to reduce in 2025.Attacks on ships in the Red Sea have forced nearly all container ships to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 10% to average sailing distances and ship demand.Re-routing via Cape of Good Hope could impact all of 2024. Ship demand increases an estimated 15.0% in 2024…

Across the industry this week, the ongoing and disastrous state of affairs in both Bangladesh and Pakistan on opposite ends, coupled with the onset of the customarily slower summer / monsoon months, has increasingly descended the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets into a tighter squeeze, reports cash buyer GMS.India too shuffles through the impact of its recent election results, and Turkey is in wait for any signs of tonnage coming their way.“A natural byproduct of such a depreciation has been the increasingly marginal number of units arriving sub-continent port positions every week…

Cash buyer GMS predicts a knuckle-biter of a third quarter for ship recycling, given that:• (confusing) budgets were announced in Bangladesh and Pakistan this week• taxes and duties are to be imposed on FO / LO on incoming vessels in Bangladesh  • India’s first post-election budget is due in July under the freshly formed coalition government• Alang recyclers are still fresh in the wake of post-election abnormalities that are expected to become the norm• a Turkish market that is…

An eventful week in the ship recycling industry saw the announcement of the Bangladeshi budget surprisingly deliver negative news for Chattogram’s ship recycling sector, reports cash buyer GMS.“Bangladesh’s proposed budget has surprisingly fallen short of appreciating, assessing, or even addressing the extent of the nation’s ongoing economic crises via establishing realistic targets and measures needed to correct recently erupted financial abnormalities,” says GMS.The Taka declined further against the U.S.

As May comes to an end, increasing vessel prices on the back of a firming demand from Alang recyclers has now seen local steel plate prices climb nearly $45/ton, reports cash buyer GMS.“Notwithstanding, an all too familiar lack of decent quality tonnage available to global recyclers to sink their teeth into, remains blisteringly omnipresent as the industry ventures into the traditionally quieter monsoon months and freight sectors appear to be performing firmly once again, depriving recycling destinations of meaningful tonnage yet again…

As the summer / monsoon months creep closer, ship recycling markets in Turkey and the Indian sub-continent have been firming over recent weeks, reports cash buyer GMS.“Pakistan, though still relatively firm, feels sluggishly satiated of late having taken in a healthy collection of vessels / LDT (for this market’s size).” Despite having bested last year’s recycling volumes with another three fresh arrivals this week, it continues to endure a rather glum outlook as its demand and…

Following on from last week’s unexpected shock via the intentional depreciation in the value of the Bangladeshi Taka, it has been an altogether quieter week of sales and activity in the country, says cash buyer GMS.Domestic ship recyclers are evaluating the potential costs and implications of further depreciations, given that the Taka slipped further into BDT 117 territory against the U.S. Dollar this week. “As Bangladesh’s outflow of foreign currency reserves increases once again…

Towards the end of the working week, the Bangladeshi Taka crashed by about 6.4% against the U.S. dollar in a couple of days. This depreciation in the Taka will translate into higher L/C costs that should escalate by about 6% - 7% (at least), reports cash buyer GMS.This will further reduce already suffocated margins that have resulted from flatlining steel plate prices, ensuring that upcoming vessel acquisitions will be more expensive for local recyclers, who will lose out to a firming India…

Activity across the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets has been climbing on the back of recently witnessed agitations in the trading lanes, reports cash buyer GMS.“A growing number of Ship Owners are biting the recycling bullet and selling their overaged but still trading vessels. Containers have been the first segment to be squeezed out by this recent dip in freight rates as several units were (and continue to be) introduced for a recycling sale,” says GMS.Much of the miniscule supply of tonnage over recent quarters has been focused on the dry and container sectors…

On the back of freight markets that are finally facing their first set of 2024 jitters, the industry is gradually witnessing an increasing number of units being proposed for a recycling sale, all of which are being confirmed via the sudden influx of tonnage at the Indian and Bangladeshi waterfronts this week, reports cash buyer GMS.This coms just as the Pakistani market (as expected) starts to fall behind on its domestic arrivals. At this rate, India looks set to sneak past the Pakistani market in the rankings…

This week, various holidays concluded across the globe just as Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets started to perk up amidst fundamentals that have independently enjoyed varying degrees of volatility and resurgence over recent weeks, reports cash buyer GMS.“Steel plate prices in Bangladesh and Pakistan remained flatlined at respectively firm levels - the effects of which has only helped these markets grab their share of high-priced fixtures since the start the of the year - all while the ever-volatile Indian plate price that fell last week…

The Sustainable Ship and Offshore Recycling Program (SSORP) has announced the successful completion of its 500th free safety awareness session at ship recycling yards across the Indian subcontinent.The milestone underscores SSORP's firm commitment to elevating safety standards and promoting sustainable practices within the ship recycling industry.Over 20 unique topics have been addressed in these sessions, spanning crucial areas such as emergency response, environmental hazards…

Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets enjoyed a greater than expected degree of a post-Ramadan resurgence, reports cash buyer GMS.“Vessel prices across the various destinations seemed to have concurrently enjoyed varying degrees of an uptick this week on the back of which some eye-opening sales were seemingly concluded into the various sub-continent locations.”However, this firming is certainly surprising, given that recycling destination currencies suffered through their own versions of volatility against the U.S.

Ship recycling has again been quiet across the ship recycling globe, reports cash buyer GMS.“Moreover, as an increasing number of vessels past beached have been nearly recycled, and barely any meaningful arrivals have been reported at the respective waterfronts (zero in India this week), frustrated industry players are just … going with the depressive flow,” states GMS.“With that being said and reportedly this week, amidst a sea of floating oldies several high-priced sales were surprisingly confirmed to the various markets (essentially Bangladesh and Pakistan)…

Over the past eight quarters, ship recycling of bulkers, tankers and container ships has dropped to the lowest level in 20 years. “A combination of strong demand following a series of market shocks and low orderbooks have kept older ships operating for longer than usual,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the first quarter of 2024, only two million deadweight tonnes (DWT) ship capacity were recycled. This marks the ninth consecutive quarter with recycling levels below three million DWT.

The week concluded surprisingly for sub-continent ship recycling nations which were busier (from an LDT perspective) than recent weeks, reports cash buyer GMS.“This left local recyclers scrambling to get their respective shares of the odd unit in, and that too at ever-competitive rates. As such, the dearth of vessels currently available for a recycling sale will certainly ensure that any mis-directed dreams of discounted deals at this juncture of the year, are likely to remain just that…i.e.

Despite the occasional smaller LDT candidate popping up for sale over recent weeks, there regrettably remains the ongoing scarcity of tonnage that is simply unable to fill the most basic of demands at the major ship-recycling destinations, reports cash buyer GMS.“As plots across Indian sub-continent markets gradually recycle through their respective shares of vessel deliveries through the first quarter of 2024, both Bangladeshi and Pakistani markets remain well-positioned despite the onset of the traditionally quieter month of Ramadan…

With the conclusion of week 11, the ongoing and seemingly endless dearth in the supply of viable candidates has been mercifully keeping the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ship recycling markets steady, reports cash buyer GMS.“On the other hand, the Turkish and Indian markets continue to endure their respective shares of a notably trying time, given that the Turkish Lira continues to plummet even amidst a mercifully quieter week (on account of Ramadan).”GMS says: “India continues to endure its share of nerve-racking volatility in local steel plate prices as well as the Indian Rupee…

Even though the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets have taken on a collection of smaller vessels of late, the week remains “sleepy” says cash buyer GMS.Virtually no deals have been concluded, and this has put the squeeze on the global ship recycling sector.“Dry bulk charter rates have been pushing on by the week as ship owners monetize the most from this sector. Containers and tankers too remain oddly off the recycling buffet, and this in turn is driving the ongoing dearth of viable candidates into overdrive…

As freight markets push further on, global ship recycling markets remain deprived of tonnage, making it an increasingly suffocating environment for ship recyclers to operate in, reports cash buyer GMS.Bangladesh and Pakistan rely heavily on imported ship’s steel, not only for domestic / large-scale infrastructure projects, but also for its comparatively ‘healthier’ and ‘rust-free’ condition than other forms of imported scrap metal / steel (HMS 1, HMS 2, shredded steel, etc.)Therefore…