The incredible rally of the dry bulk market during the month of August has started to translate to higher prices in the second hand market for dry bulk carriers as well. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “August was extremely hot in the dry bulk market with rates rising at levels that we have years to witness. The dry bulk index exceeded the 4,000 points mark on the 20th of August, a trend which followed an upward trajectory until the 27th of August when it reached 4,235 points. We are reminding you that the last time the dry bulk index exceeded the 4,000 points mark was back in May 2010 when the BDI reached 4209 points”.
According to Intermodal’s SnP Broker, Mr. George Iliopoulos, “such an increase in the dry bulk freight market could not but affect the secondhand prices of bulker units which saw their values improve sharply within a short period of time, a trend which seems that has not yet stabilized; we see last done level of asset values being higher from their previous one. As a result of the sharp freight market improvement and the significant surge in buying interest, secondhand values have doubled since the beginning of the year.
For instance, in early 2021, the price of a 15 year old Japanese Supramax vessel was estimated at around $7.7-8.0 million with the current price indication at above $15.0 million. In line with the Supramax sector, 15 year old Japanese Panamax units were sold at around $10.0-11.0 million back in January 2021 with the current price being negotiated at around $19.0 million”.
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“However, Handysize asset appreciation during 2021 has been the most remarkable one. In recent years, the Handysize values and especially asset prices of the 28kdwt size were under significant pressure while even when the secondhand market enjoyed periods of recovery, price improvement of the Handysize vessels was lagging behind compared to their bigger counterparts. Yet, during 2021, the Handysize secondhand market has been extremely active with an outstanding price rise compared to the previous year values. For example, the price of a 15 year old Japanese 28kdwt Handysize unit during 2020 was estimated at around low $5.0 million while the current price of the same unit is estimated at a price of above $11.0 million”, Iliopoulos said.
He added that “this upward momentum has also positive affected the prices of the older ships; while interest for such vessels was almost muted, in 2021 we have seen several owners’ negotiating on units built from 1998 up to 2001 which has apparently pushed the price of the respective vessels upward as well. Of course, the price increase of these older units has been also impacted by the scrap prices which reached historical high levels during this year. The six million dollar question is always how long this trend will last and at what point of the shipping business cycle we are at the moment of writing”, Intermodal’s analyst concluded.
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