Ship Owners are Stockpiling Bulker Newbuildings

Dry bulkers have been the “weapon of choice” for ship owners, when it comes to newbuilding orders. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied said that it was “a busier week than the last for reported contracting activity and yet another where additions to the bulker orderbook have outpaced tankers for a third week in a row, even excluding the news of old orders. For example, the order from TMS, who have contracted 8 Newcastlemaxes from COSCO Yangzhou so far this year. This sub-type has seen increased interest this year and has already comfortably surpassed last year’s total orders—helped in no small part by the 16 vessels that CMB have contracted from Qingdao Beihai. Oshima in Japan has received a string of new orders lately, with the number of vessels on order at the yard making headway above 70, of which roughly a third fall into the broader Supramax category. This size group saw a relatively high rate of contracting throughout 2021 and 2022 and, although the pace has slackened this year, the orderbook accounts for over 10% of the active fleet in terms of vessel count. A key part of the declining pace could be the high number of Supramax deliveries scheduled for next year, the highest since 2015, and an event which could have a substantial impact on earnings if demand doesn’t keep pace”.

In a similar note, shipbroker Banchero Costa added that “Eastern Pacific ordered to Japan Marine United 2 x 211,000 dwt Newcastlemax to be delivered in 2025. Apparently the 2 vessels will be conventionally fuelled, the price was undisclosed. In the same segment, CMB controlled Bocimar added 2 x 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax to the ones already on order from Qingdao Beihai.

The price was reported at $66 mln apiece and deliveries are expected in 2027, the vessels will be dual-fuel ammonia ready. Diana Shipping was reported signing a letter of intent with Tsuneishi for 2 x 81,300 dwt dual-fuel methanol Kamsarmax bulk carriers; the vessels will be built in Tsuneishi’s affiliated yard in Zhoushan, with deliveries in 2027 and 2028, price $46 mln each. In tanker market, the most notable news was the decision of Hengli H.I. to build 2 x 306,000 dwt VLCC for their own account, delivery expected in June 2026 and price undisclosed. China based Zhejiang Xinyihai Shipping chose Ningbo Xinle to build a 8,500 dwt chemical tanker with delivery set for September 2024 and the price was not reported”, the shipbroker said.

Meanwhile, in the S&P market, Allied noted that “on the dry bulk side, the snp market moved in line with its most recent trend, with a robust number of transactions coming to light. Once again, we noticed the biggest size segment prevailing ahead of overall dry bulk sector’s pace, retaining its 4-week bullish momentum in terms of activity. Thinking about the recent rally in spot earnings, this trend of late hardly seems a surprise. While we are seeing asset price levels recover gradually, shortterm liquidity in the snp market will appear rather challenging. On the tanker side, the sluggish pace in reported activity resumed for yet another week, with most size segments appearing silent. Only the MR market indicated some signs of a revival over the past week, but it’s still very early to discern a robust trend at this point”, the shipbroker concluded.

Banchero Costa added that “Starting from the Capesize segment, the AM GIJON 178,000 dwt 2011 Mitsui was rumoured sold to Greeks in excess of $26 mln. Last week the SUIGO 174,000 dwt 2011 Namura was reported sold for $23.5 mln. The Japanese Kamsarmax LORD STAR 83,000 dwt 2013 Sanoyas (scrubber fitted) was reported sold to German owner Blumenthal for $23.8 mln while the Chinese built YANGTZE XING JIN 81,000 dwt 2012 Guangzhou Longxue is rumoured sold in the region $20 mln. Turkish owner GSD Holdings seems to have found a buyer for its Ultramax ZEYNO 63,000 dwt 2014 Yangzhou Dayang at $22 mln; as a matter of comparison, at the end of August the HANTON TRADER III 64,000 dwt 2014 Jiangsu Hantong was reported sold to Chinese Buyers for $20.3 mln. The Japanese SANTA VITORIA 61,000 dwt 2012 Iwagi Zosen was rumoured sold to undisclosed buyers at $20.5 mln. Angelopulos’ Metrostar Management sold 2 Aframax: CRUDEMED and CRUDESUN both 115,000 dwt 2018 Daehan at region $70 mln each to undisclosed Buyers.

The two sisterships were ordered at a price around $43 mln each. The price is rather firm, but vessels both passed SS during the last summer and the availability of modern crude tankers is almost zero. CHEMTRANS AEGAN 76,000 dwt 2007 Dalian seems to have been committed to undisclosed Buyers at a price around $22 mln. In the MR segment the LACERTA and the BORA BORA both 49,000 dwt 2016 SPP were sold en bloc for $40.5 mln each to Turkish Buyers. A Chinese built ship of same age/size – the SUNNY APATITE 49,000 dwt 2016 Guangzhou was sold in during the second half of August at $34.5 mln. Another modern MR, the TFR BERGEN 49,000 dwt 2015 Hyundai Vinashin (scrubber fitted) was reported sold to undisclosed Buyers at a price of $37 mln.”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide