Below-par earnings for kamsarmax vessels have taken a toll on secondhand values, two fresh transactions reported by brokers on 20 September show.
In both, Greek owners are said to be buying fairly modern ships from Japanese owners at values below last-done levels or what instant valuation tools suggest had the market not changed.
In one, brokers based in London, Athens and the US report Hellenic buyers are spending between $25m and $26m on Nissen Kaiun’s scrubber-fitted, Tadotsu Imabari-built, 81,800-dwt Martha (built 2014).
One source suggested Athens-based Sea Pioneer Shipping is the buyer. Managers at the Vassilis Bacolitsas-led firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clarksons described this as a “notably soft price”, compared with the $30m plus that Greek peer Ocean Freighters is believed to have paid just last month for a comparable kamsarmax sold by Nissen Kaiun — the 80,900-dwt Elsa S (built 2015).
“Kamsarmax secondhand values have dropped about 10% this month,” commented brokers at Athens-based WeberSeas.
A second kamsarmax deal reported by US brokers on Friday seems to be pointing in the same direction.
Undisclosed Hellenic interests are said to be spending $30.3m on an even younger kamsarmax, the 81,100-dwt Vincent Triton (built 2020).
This price is far below the $34.8m and $30.9m that VesselsValue and Signal Ocean, respectively, calculate the Chinese-built bulker is worth.
The Vincent Triton is listed with Nisshin Shipping, a Japanese owner that had chartered out the vessel on a five-year contract initially operated by Norway’s Vincent Shipping and then passed on to a different party — possibly Ashley Group Holdings.
Several Greek companies have been tied to kamsarmax acquisitions lately. One may have been Transmed Shipping, which some brokers have tied to a deal for Norden’s 81,800-dwt Nord Penguin (built 2015) late last month, for a price between $30m and $30.6m.
More of the same?
Falling kamsarmax values are likely directly related to the segment’s recent lacklustre earnings performance.
Average five-year-old kamsarmax earnings vegetated at about $12,000 and $13,000 per day over much of August and September, before they climbed to $14,359 per day last week, according to Clarksons.
This is a consistent and significant discount compared with earnings for supramax and capesize bulkers of a similar age.
WeberSeas expects to see more of the same for older kamsarmaxes.
“There is a lengthy inventory of kamsarmaxes for sale presently, especially for units around 15 years old, therefore, we expect a correction on the older kamsarmax values soon,” the Athens brokerage said in a report.
There is emerging evidence of this, as US brokers report that Indian steel giant ArcelorMittal has obtained a price above $18m each for the Chinese-built, 81,800-dwt sister ships AM Hamburg and AM Quebec (both built 2013).
VesselsValue and Signal Ocean estimate each ship should be about $20m.
Managers at ArcelorMittal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
