Ship Recycling Markets Face Varied Fundamentals

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, firmed, and even surged impressively this week.”

Currencies have suffered of late as nearly all recycling nation currencies have individually agonized through their own versions of volatility. The recent downtick in freight rates across key trading sectors has finally seen a sudden surge of container ships, general cargo vessels, and tankers being offered for sale into the various destinations - including Turkey, where action has been non-existent for about a year.

A solo container ship managed to clear the coveted USD 600/LDT mark (albeit with about USD 20/LDT of fuel included), and this has tempted several owners of vintage units to test the markets once again, says GMS.

Recyclers are inclined to bide their time and wait for the right value units to come available, rather than offering firm on whatever comes first in line, just to fill empty plots and end up with a vessel that struggles with weight loss issues during recycling, on account of a higher-than-average wastage of steel or having poorly maintained unsellable machinery onboard.

With a majority of such vessels now being largely ignored, recyclers are also risking leaving their yards empty in case there is an uptick in the supply of tonnage amidst further cooling freight rates.

For week 16 of 2024, GMS’s demo rankings are: