Indian ship recyclers returned to the market with a bang after revival of steel demand in the domestic, while buyers from Bangladesh and Pakistan have started to hold back bids prompted by a slide in ship steel plate prices in Bangladesh.
Alang yards bought two HKC green recycling reefer containers well above the 600/ldt level. US seller Dole traded sister vessels Dole Ecquador (8,327ldt) and Dole California (8,314ldt) at $645/ldt and $625/ldt. The premium for Dole Ecquador was due to a spare propeller.
With the Alang scrap market resuming trades after the end of transporters’ strike and an improvement in domestic steel fundamentals, India ship recyclers could remain active and seek more tonnages in the coming days.
Meanwhile, during the month, shipbreaking volumes in Alang fell to 47,652ldt, down by 86pc from a year ago and 69pc from June.
No vessel deals were reported from Pakistan and Bangladesh after steel plate prices declined by about $30/ldt in Bangladesh. Turkish market was also silent as ferrous scrap and local steel prices softened.
Business sentiments declined in Bangladesh and Pakistan, while it improved in India and softened in Turkey. Shipowners are keen on closing deals above $600/ldt but buyers with ample inventories stayed away from larger tonnage at high offers.
On a monthly basis, Gadani yards led in terms of shipbreaking tonnages with a total of 1,96,361mt, followed by Bangladesh with 1,62,758ldt.
| Indian subcontinent shipbreaking volumes in July | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Unit: ldt) | July 2021 | June 2021 | Change MoM | July 2020 | Change YoY |
| Gadani | 1,96,361 | 63,505 | 209% | 87,254 | 125% |
| Chittagong | 1,62,758 | 3,27,243 | -50% | 1,90,082 | -14% |
| Alang | 47,652 | 1,52,308 | -69% | 3,39,707 | -86% |