Several ships were sold at high prices from 31 August to 4 September as cash buyers speculated on recovering scrap steel demand.
The ships were all sold for recycling in India while weak market fundamentals deterred sales in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
While bulkers are getting less than USD300 per ldt on the Indian subcontinent, cash buyers forked out more than that for five ships.
Brokers said COSCO’s 1994-built Panamax bulker was sold for USD3,293,240 or USD340 per ldt as it had 800 tonnes of leftover bunkers.
A few other Panamax bulkers were offloaded too. SW Shipping’s 1990-built Sea Trader was sold for USD314 per ldt while 1994-built Wei Fong was sold for USD325 per ldt.
Bertling Reederei’s 1997-built open-hatch cargo ship Masuren was also sold for USD340 per ldt.
However, cash buyers and brokers believe the prices are unsustainable as fundamentals remain weak.
The Indian rupee has been weakening while cheap Chinese steel imports are still flowing into the Indian subcontinent.
Dubai-based cash buyer Global Marketing Systems said, “It is highly unlikely that prices will climb and the prevailing sentiment will not likely hold out much longer.”
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
