Demolition Market “Hotting Up”
The allure of even higher offers isn’t one to be ignored by many ship owners these days, when it comes to deciding whether to scrap their older ships or not. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “commodity markets rallied again this week, with Iron Ore trading as high as $230 per tonne, having broken through the $200 mark for the first time ever in the last seven days. These fundamentals have enabled the Global Steel markets to soar which has meant the local steel prices in the Indian sub-continent firming and leaving the distinct possibility that we could reach the USD 600/per ldt level! This would result in a huge milestone for the market and see levels not witnessed since the post 2008 financial crash. This makes the recovery even more impressive as the World starts to unlock after what has been the biggest and worst Economic shut down in history due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, where this time last year it ground the recycling industry to a halt. However, the ever-increasing cases in the three sub-continent locations has left Cash Buyers slightly susceptible of the short-term outlook, but there is a feeling that the worst of the wave has been felt and that June should see improvements as the May lockdown takes effect. Despite this, it is worth mentioning that the few vessels that have recently been concluded are still being delivered to the yards and the main obstacle in this climate has been the ‘as-is’ deliveries where the Port of Singapore currently remains shut for crew change with both the Sellers and Buyers looking for a mutually agreed alternative delivery locations. With the Eid celebrations now taking place, we expect a quieter week ahead in the industry and we would like to take this opportunity of wishing Eid Mubarak to all of you and your families”, Clarkson Platou Hellas noted.