Ship recycling prices have kept on falling over the course of the past week. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied noted that “activity remains concentrated in India and Bangladesh with Pakistan still out of the picture and Turkey making do with a handful of ex-European vessels that have arrived over recent weeks. Prices are continuing to slide, with the biggest month-on-month decrease seen in India. Despite this, India yards have been the location of choice for owners seeking HKC recycling, despite better prices and recent certified yards in Bangladesh. Low steel demand globally is unlikely to support higher prices in the short term and if prices continue to sink while vessel earnings remain healthy, we might see this dry spell continue. Four of the five new vessels reported as sold/arrived at breakers yards were over 25 years of age, such a high percentage of 25+ vessels has become something of a trend lately, indicating that owners do not feel the market incentives right now for the disposal of younger vessels. Last week saw no particularly large vessels sold or reported as arriving at breakers’ yards; ‘Horizon Pacific’ the largest at 17,224 ldt”, the shipbroker said.
