An armada of unwanted anchor-handling tug supply vessels (AHTS) are in the process of hitting the shipbreaking beaches of the Indian subcontinent as shiprecyclers seek out smaller vessels while they wait for the return of the big ships.
Recent AHTS arrivals or beachings at Alang included Red Sea International of Egypt’s 4,680-bhp Red Sea Diamond (built 1979), and DTA Maritime’s 4,040-bhp Hurricane III (built 2000).
US-based offshore player Seacor Holdings 8,000-bhp Core (built 2000, ex Seacor 2000), was also due to arrive at Alang this week, offshore brokers said.
Joining these scrap-bound vessels in the anchorage off Alang was Britoil Offshore Services’ 5,250-bhp Britoil 61 (built 2007), but executives at the Singapore-based company said that the ship was just assisting with the beaching of large vessel, and was not about to be scrapped.
The same scenario applied for Zouros Group of Greece’s 5,150-bhp Stratis Z (built 2007). It too was at Alang assisting with the beaching of a vessel.
“It is too young to go for scrap,” said a Zouros representative.
Unconfirmed reports this week also suggested that Seacor had sold the 14,400-bhp Seacor Vanguard for recycling. No details were given on where the US-flagged vessel will be recycled .
A shiprecycling source told TradeWinds that a large number of redundant anchor handlers and other offshore craft are steadily being sold off for scrap as operators prune their fleets of tonnage that is unlikely to ever return to service. The deals are rarely reported in the market or make it onto shipbroking reports.
While Alang's ship recyclers have often shunned small offshore vessels, interest has picked up significantly as larger ships prove elusive due low steel plate prices in India. Offshore vessels may have low steel content when compared to bulkers or tankers, but they do come with a large amount of high-value, modern equipment on board that can be sold on for a profit.
Offshore vessels can also be broken up fast, which allows recyclers to free up their plots quickly should they scrap steel prices improve and larger vessels become affordable.
Although offshore tonnage dominated Alang’s arrivals this week, other vessel types also made their appearance including Japanese owner NYK Line’s 6,290-car-capacity Hojin (built 1990), Limarko Shipping of Lithuania’s 9,360-dwt reefer Seda (built 1985) and the elderly 16,500-dwt bulk carrier Aveiro (built 1978) belonging to GMZ Ship Management of Lebanon.
