Market watchers are expressing surprise at the price of some demolition deals reported out of Bangladesh.
“The Bangladeshi market has been impressing everybody,” brokers at Athens-based WeberSeas said in their latest weekly report on 3 March.
Observers believe that two capesize bulkers reported sold in the demolition market on Friday are heading towards that country.
The first is the 172,600-dwt Sunlight (built 2000), which — depending on the broker reporting the deal — is sold “as is” in Singapore at $572 or $575 per ldt.
“I believe this ship is going to Bangladesh. India doesn’t fetch such prices at the moment and Pakistan can’t receive vessels yet,” a demolition player told TradeWinds.
The price level is remarkable, even if reports by US brokers are accurate that the ship is sold with 400 tons of bunkers on board.
The owner of the Sunlight, Greece’s Nicholas G Moundreas shipping group, has a reputation as an astute demolition player, having extracted remarkable values from its older vessels in the past.
The Sunlight was reported sold for scrap in August last year, at $547 per ldt. Sources close to the company, however, had denied this.
Another Greek-controlled capesize believed to have gone for demolition is the 185,800-dwt Agia Trias (built 2002).
TradeWinds had reported the ship sold to Chinese interests last month, as a straight secondhand transaction valued at $12.5m.
Several brokers, however, are now reporting this as a demolition deal — again “as is” Singapore, at $569 per ldt or $12.6m in total.
Letters of credit are opening
Demolition interest is warming up in Bangladesh as financial strains there ease.
“Positive sentiment in Bangladesh is driven in part by continued easing of issues around obtaining letters of credit [LCs],” Clarksons said in its weekly report on 3 March.
Sentiment in India is positive as well, but prices offered there are not quite matching those in Bangladesh, according to analysts at cash buyer Best Oasis.
“Presently, there is a difference of at least $20 to $30 per lightweight,” Best Oasis wrote.
“There is a lot of earlier unfilled demand [in Bangladesh] that is now being fulfilled … with more LCs being opened, even if they are for smaller units, the Bangladeshi recycling industry looks to have finally rebounded after several months of low activity.”
During the lean months, it was Greek owners again who kept drip-feeding the demolition market with big ships.
The latest was Diamantis Diamantides, whose Marmaras Navigation offloaded two ageing bulkers after December — the 170,100-dwt Paschalis D and Pitsa D (both built 2002).
