Germany has emerged as the biggest seller of secondhand tonnage in the past seven years.
Its shipowners sold 1,691 vessels between 2012 and the end of 2018, more than any other country according to VesselsValue.
The flurry of sales resulted in the German containership stable halving as a percentage of the fleet on the water in 2012, as did the country’s tanker fleet.
There was little sign this week of the sale of mostly containership tonnage to buyers outside of Germany coming to a halt.
Brokers report that Greek owner Victoria Oceanway has acquired the 1,645-teu Alidra (built 2000) from Hamburg-based Peter Dohle at an undisclosed price.
Greek buyer
Alphaliner lists the Alidra as one of 22 ships built at Hanjin Heavy Industries between 1994 and 2002. It says 15 of the vessels are still trading. The Alidra was originally ordered for German owner Horst Zeppenfeld.
Two of those vessels, the 1,654-teu Soul of Luck and Star of Luck (both built 1997), already operate in the Victoria Oceanway fleet after the Greek owner acquired them from the German market.
But the greatest contraction has been in the dry sector, where 65% of the fleet on the water seven years ago has been sold by German owners.
The shipowners topping the league table for all vessel types are those that were hit the hardest by the 2008 downturn, says VesselsValue.
Ahrenkiel Steamship leads the pack with 78 vessel sales, followed by Offen Group (67 ships), Rickmers Reederei (66), ER Schiffahrt (46) and Hartmann Schiffahrts (44).
The 1,691 sales figure puts Germany ahead of larger shipping nations such as Japan and Greece, which sold 1,437 and 1,332 vessels, respectively.
Earlier this month, Nord/LB sold a €2.7bn ($3.05bn) loan portfolio on 263 ships — dubbed Big Ben — reportedly to private equity fund Cerberus Capital Management.
The maritime cluster remains strong, and financing options appear to be increasing, particularly for top-tier owners locking in orders before expected price increases at shipyards following yard consolidation
Court Smith
Some brokers speculate that Cerberus may seek to sell part of the portfolio, but will want to hold onto a larger slice while waiting for the shipping market to recover.
But they point to the uncertain future of a second and larger portfolio believed to be worth about €4bn and not sold by Nord/LB.
Scant comfort
They suggest this could mean more ship sales in the German market in the coming months.
However, VesselsValue senior analyst Court Smith said that recent trends show there are many new entrants to the market, leveraging the existing professional expertise of the German maritime cluster.
“German interest in the sale and purchase market grew in 2018,” Smith said.
“The maritime cluster remains strong, and financing options appear to be increasing, particularly for top-tier owners locking in orders before expected price increases at shipyards following yard consolidation.”
