[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With the dry bulk market increasingly looking like it will “fulfill its destiny” of a solid rebound, registering its fifth straight increase
yesterday, optimism is growing in the newbuilding market as well, with and more owners actively looking for bargain opportunities. In its
latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “with sentiment having improved considerably over the past couple of months
and with most owners looking more favorably at the possible prospects to be seen during the course of the next few years in both the Dry Bulk and
Tanker markets, we have started to see some slow inflow of interest emerge. As has been noted several times during the past year or so, 
there are still several market aspects working against the newbuilding market at the time being. This however is unlikely to deter speculators
from acting in the market, hoping to play on any potential climb in asset values over the next two years which would bring a favorable
return thanks to the low newbuilding prices on offer, while also taking advantage of the easy payment terms provided by newbuilding contracts.
It seems to be too early for this to really gain momentum, though we should look at this with caution as it could lead to any excessive
ordering moving forward, despite having only just starting to see some positive spark in the market”.
Meanwhile, in the S&P market this week, ship valuations’ specialist VesselsValue (VV) noted that in the tanker market, “despite a number of
tanker sales this week, values across all ages have remained stable. The VLCC DHT Phoenix (307,200 DWT, Sept 1999, Daewoo) sold for USD 18.5 mil
vs VV value of USD 18.38 mil. Aframax Hull 812 (114,000 DWT, May 2017, Hyundai Samho Heavy Ind) sold to TMS Tankers on subs for USD 43.7
million”. In the dry bulk segment, VV said that “bulker values remain constant with exception of mid age Capes which firmed. Shin Zui (180,200
DWT, Apr 2007, Koyo Dock) sold to Golden Union for USD 15.7 mil vs VV value of USD 14.73 mil firming Capesize values. The Panamax vessels
Bergen Trader 1 & 2 (82,000 DWT, Dec 2012/Feb 2013, Sungdong) sold en bloc for USD 32.0 mil on subs. The Mardi Gras (28,500 DWT, Sept 2009,
Shimanami) sold for USD 5.8 mil vs VV value of USD 6.02 million. On the container front, values have remained stable this week with no sales to
report, concluded VV”.
Still on the S&P front, Allied Shipbroking added that “on the dry bulk side, activity showed a considerable boost, with ample vessels changing
hand this week. Prices in most size segments and especially in the younger units have continued to show an upward trend though this is
still at a very slow pace, with only minimal premiums against last done sales being seen “here and there”. We still haven’t seen any remarkable
rise in the freight market yet to really justify a big rise in prices, so we may well be ready for some high gains in the near fortune. On the
tanker side, nothing really impressive to note this week with minimal activity to post. These few sales are still reflecting the downward
trend in asset prices being noted over the past couple of months. It seems as though we may well start to see things pause in this regard,
with sellers showing a sense of disappointment with the figures being thrown around, while at the same time buyers have become fewer and less
eager in this market”, said the shipbroker.
Finally, in the demolition market, Allied noted that “after several weeks of the market holding at fairly positive levels, we seem to have
started to see some slight downward correction in the Indian Sub-Continent. It seems as though appetite amongst breakers has eased
from what it was a couple of weeks back. This is still being matched against a small inflow of demo candidates coming to market, but the
better match against interest seemed to have ben enough to ease the speculative buying that had been taking place these past weeks. Local steel prices also seemed to have eased slightly, taking further “steam”
from the market, while there still is a general turmoil being noted in terms of regulations and safety which has some in the market spooked and
unsure as to what the market direction is at the moment”, the shipbroker concluded.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
