Lockdowns hinder the demolition market again
The ship recycling market has sustained a halt over the past days, as a result of Ramadan holidays and the raging pandemic in India and large parts of Southeast Asia.
In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said: “Having entered the holy month of Ramadan and lockdown restrictions across the Indian sub-continent looking set to continue due to a surge in domestic cases, many buyers seem to be becoming more cautious due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic and subsequent effect to local sentiment and commodity markets.
“These current events may make it even quieter than usual with many end recyclers seemingly hibernating. Surprisingly, this is despite the Alang coastline being the most barren it has been in recent memory, with some major high-profile facilities laying completely empty.”
It added: “With Ramadan running into the Eid festivities, then into the monsoon season, who knows how the market will react during this normal slowdown in the dismantling process, but as domestic steel markets continue to improve, we surely should see an aggressive appetite return to the table once the markets return to some form of normality post-Ramadan.
“However, the uncertain lockdown schedule will still not help confidence amongst some in the industry. Due to the lack of candidates and mainly specialist units being sold from chemical tankers, LNGs and offshore units, it is now difficult to gauge where the market truly lies for conventional tonnage at present.”
For more information visit www.clarksons.com
26th April 2021
