Secondhand tonnage prices may have plateaued, with many considering middle-aged ships to be “fully priced”, Cleaves said.
A broker at the Oslo outfit, Einar Straume, said in Cleaves Securities Shipping Weekly that tanker rates have stabilised at high levels with sentiment expecting more on the way and the low orderbook will keep earnings high.
“Thus there are no indications either that prices will turn down again in the near term,” Straume said.
“So we expect a more balanced development going forward, where sellers will continue to turn very nice reseal profits and buyers will probably become more selective as the upside will not arguably be more on the trading side than on possible asset play.”
Data from the shipbroker and investment bank show asset values for 5-year-old ships at highs not seen in nearly a decade.
It suggested a 5-year-old VLCC was worth $102m and $72m at 10 years old.
A 5-year-old suezmax was worth $70m and a 10-year-old $50m, it said, while an aframax was worth $62.5m at 5 years old and $46m at 10 years old.
In the note, Straume highlighted the sale of the 157,000-dwt Elandra Osprey (built 2018), which was sold for $75.5m to Singapore’s Eastern Pacific from compatriot Elandra.
The ship moved at a premium, with VesselsValue suggesting the ship was worth nearly $72m just before the sale.
Elandra parent Vitol declined to comment on the sale. Eastern Pacific did not immediately return a request for comment.
Straume said it was the first modern suezmax sale this year.
“We must look back to October 2022 to find similar, when the same vintage Chinese-built ship sold for $64m,” he said.
