Year-on-year bulker activity increased this January, with a total of 47 bulkers sold so far, compared to 42 in January 2023. Values across all bulker sectors rose. “Spot rates are at historical highs for this period,” pointed out Rebecca Galanopoulos Jones, a senior content analyst at VesselsValue. For example, capesizes are up by around 270% year-on-year to just over $16,000 a day. Headline S&P bulker transactions included the four-year-old Mineral Qingdao newcastlemax sold for $54.5m, while the three-month-old Capt Tasos was snapped up by Norden for $70.5m. Total tanker sales, meanwhile, have fallen by 59% year-on-year with just 37 sales reported in January 2024 compared to 91 in the same period last year. Nevertheless, tanker values continued to firm across most sectors this month. Values for 15-year-old VLCCs of 310,000 dwt increased by 7.74% month-on-month. Key tanker transactions included the sales of the Brook Trout and Lake Trout, two 17-year-old LR1s, sold to Emarat Maritime for $52m, while Trafigura paid $26m for the two-year younger Pataris LR1. January was a quiet month for containership S&P as sellers adopted a wait-and-see approach anticipating higher sales prices from the short-term supply crunch brought about by the Red Sea shut-in. Just two sales were transacted, versus 33 sales concluded in January 2023. The 14-year-old, 4,860 teu Zhong Gu Fu Jian was sold to an unknown Chinese buyer for $18m. “Despite a large orderbook, a rebound in demand, even for older ships and a recovery in asset prices are now becoming possible, especially if the [Red Sea] conflict finds no quick resolution,” Alphaliner noted in its latest weekly report. TagsSplash Extra Archive Splash Extra January 2024