Secondhand tanker purchases have slowed as potential buyers baulk at rising asset values.
Brokers have been talking up a number of sales in recent weeks but fewer deals are being confirmed.
US owner Seaways International did manage to pull off a big fleet deal, capturing six MRs from Wayzata Investment Partners for $238m, as TradeWinds reported on Friday.
Eva Tzima, head of research at Greece’s Seaborne Shipbrokers, said freight markets are providing enviable returns for shipowners currently.
“The new, much higher, normal that earnings have been enjoying since the start of the year continues to push secondhand asset prices up,” she added.
Tzima argued that some buyers, who had been very keen up until recently, have now taken a step back from further deals in the last week.
She described them as being “overwhelmed a bit by the latest upward revised price ideas of owners contemplating to sell”.
These sellers are willing to forgo daily freight rates that are typically now ranging between $50,000 and $100,000.
But they will only do so if they achieve a price premium that consists of a couple of months’ returns at these levels, the researcher explained.
The negative impact on sale-and-purchase activity is already evident and is expected to last, Tzima said.
This will only end if prospective investors bite the bullet on higher price tags and move out of the shadows, or if sellers reduce their asking prices, she believes.
Tzima views the former scenario as currently appearing more likely.
Data from Xclusiv Shipbrokers shows secondhand prices up year on year in February for all classes of VLCCs, suezmaxes, aframaxes and MRs, except for 15-year-old VLCCs, which are down 5% to $57m.
Greece’s Allied Shipbroking said overall tanker S&P activity was steady week on week, with MRs still the most sought-after ships.
Norwegian broker Cleaves took a more positive stance, describing business as “brisk”.
