Scrap yards full as owners cut their losses

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London: A flurry of scrapping deals recently has seen a variety of tonnage heading to breakers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and China. And, although scrap prices are dramatically lower than the peaks of 2008, they appear to have found some stability in the $260-270/ldt range. Not for long, though, according to some market sources. They point out that most scrap yards are full, at least for the moment, and the substantial volume of tonnage now probably destined for demolition will give breakers plenty of tonnage to choose from. The indications are that prices are likely to fall further in the weeks ahead, with some re-negotiations likely, as yards make the most of their unaccustomed upper hand.
Recent demo deals include two car carriers – the Wilhelmsen-owned Takayama, built 1983, has been sold to Chinese breakers and the 1980-built Gardenia Ace, an Excel Marine vessel, has gone to Bangladesh. Bulk carrier sales include two Panamax vessels – the 1982-built Good Faith vessel Smart 1, 17,790 ldt, and the older 14,227 ldt Athos, built 1977. Both have been sold to Bangladeshi breakers. Other recent sales include around a dozen multipurpose tweendeckers, mostly built in the 1970s, several ageing reefers and a couple of bulk/oil combination vessels.  [05/02/09]