Indian subcontinental ship breaking markets gained momentum from the return of cash buyer last week. Enquirers from cash buyers for selected vessels offset some uncertainty that troubled the market over the past few weeks.
In Alang, around 70pc of the yards are active despite increased operational cost. Ship recycler are adjusting scrap generation activities as the current market situation. Scrap prices in Alang rose early last week, but fell by around $13/mt mid-week.
Bangladeshi ship recyclers cartel managed to materialize two deals, but prices of ship plates dropped slightly in the local market.
Markets in Pakistan saw an impressive turnaround with some decent offers for proposed tonnage, while local market conditions in Turkey continued to remain weak.
India
Ship recyclers operational costs rose substantially amid a shortage of oxygen cyclinders used for cutting scrap. Yards are paying more than double the usual price for oxygen cylinder.
Several PCCs for Class NK SoC / HKC green recycling has been acquired over the week, however, some deals were lost to subcontinent competitors. Even small units were secured by Pakistani buyers.
There was some optimism around ship plates and HMS prices in the beginning of last week, but now market sentiment has turned sour. Due to the expected slowdown in the Indian economy, recyclers are not keen on booking new tonnage.
Bangladesh
Ship plates prices dropped by $6/ldt in the local markets, however, demand for tonnage is picking up as many Bangladeshi yards are empty.
Two vessels were booked through the newly formed ship recyclers’ cartel. BSRA has decided to collect $1/mt as a success fee from the recyclers. Cartel members are evaluating if they can increase prices because they are unable to attract tonnages.
Pakistan
Markets in Pakistan were stable in the past week and few new bookings were heard in this region. Over loading of tonnage can impact
HMS prices if the demand for finished steel declines.
There is a larger amount of tonnages beached in Pakistan compared to Bangladesh and India, however, the number of COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly.
Turkey
Local sentiments remain negative in Turkey despite steel plates prices staying stable. The volatility in Turkish lira’s exchange rates has impacted trades. Prices of imported HMS scrap in containers softened down to $282/mt, about $10/mt less compared to last week.
Two semi-submersible vessels and one damaged car carrier have arrived for recycling. Many recyclers expect prices to drop in the coming week.