Values for secondhand kamsarmaxes have climbed another notch, with a Japanese unit fetching a much higher price than last-done levels for ships of comparable type, age and build.
Several brokers have been reporting this week that Japan’s Mizuho Sangyo is selling the 83,500-dwt Key Guardian (built 2011) for between $23.5m and $23.8m.
Market sources tell TradeWinds that the ship has been committed at a price above $23m, amid intense competition that saw more than 10 interested parties submitting bids.
“It’s like living through 2007 again,” one broker commented on the price, referring to giddy sale-and-purchase activity before the 2008 financial crisis.
Any valuation above $23m looks extraordinary for the ship built at Sanoyas Hishino Meisho.
VesselsValue data going back to early 2022 shows no other 13-year-old kamsarmax fetching such a price.
VesselsValue and Signal Ocean estimate the ship is worth between $21.4m and $21.7m.
In December, the sister ship Magic Venus changed hands for just $17.5m between the public and private arms of Greece’s Panagiotidis family.
There is no other reason to explain the intense competition and the high price for the Key Guardian than the enthusiasm sweeping across the bulker market currently, along with a hunger for vessels with a Japanese pedigree.
One particular strong point for the vessel was probably that its owner, Mizuho, traded it continuously since its delivery as a newbuilding under the management of top-tier company NYK Line.
Elevated ship values
It is characteristic that a Chinese-built kamsarmax of the same age as the Key Guardian changed hands at a much lower price level recently.
Brokers report that Athens-based owner Gleamray Maritime agreed last week to part with the 87,400-dwt Maria GO (built 2011), a vessel that has intermediate surveys due, for $17m.
Busy bulker buying has elevated ship values across the board in recent months but particularly so for larger bulkers.
Clarksons data shows 10-year-old capesizes gaining 49% on average since October and kamsarmaxes of the same age rising by 32% during the same period.
Ten-year-old handysizes, by contrast, appreciated by a somewhat more modest 21%.
