GMS Week 14 – Q2 OPENS UNDER PRESSURE! in Weekly Demolition Reports 07/04/2026 Week 14 opens the second quarter of 2026 under the same structural pressures that defined Q1, and then some. The Iran war continues to dominate the macro agenda, with Brent crude holding above USD 109/barrel for a seventh consecutive week and the Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively constrained. Geopolitical risk has overtaken supply-demand fundamentals as the primary price driver in energy markets, and ship recycling is feeling the impact from both sides, as higher oil keeps aging vessels trading while a volatile USD makes confident bidding difficult to sustain. India delivered the week’s most notable currency development, as the rupee rebounded sharply from its record low of 94.42 to 92.73 following intervention measures by the Reserve Bank of India, including curbs on forward transactions, limits on banks’ FX positions, and restrictions on corporate rebooking of cancelled contracts. Pakistan and Bangladesh saw only marginal currency movement, while the Turkish lira weakened further to a fresh record low of 44.59, continuing a prolonged depreciation trend that is steadily eroding Aliağa’s competitiveness for international tonnage. Even the U.S. Dollar, which has otherwise been a consistent source of pressure on sub-continent markets this year, sent mixed signals again this week, strengthening against the Turkish lira while easing against the Indian rupee. The INR’s recovery offers some support to Alang by improving USD-denominated bidding capacity, though the sustainability of this move remains uncertain if oil prices continue to rise and capital outflows resume. These mixed signals continue to cloud price discovery, leaving buyers and sellers struggling to anchor positions and keeping overall market activity subdued, with little progress made on clearing the tonnage backlog that has built up over the course of Q1. Bangladesh remains the standout positive in the region. The post-Eid momentum seen last week has carried into Week 14, with Chattogram recyclers actively seeking tonnage and maintaining the most engaged sentiment across the sub-continent. India and Pakistan, by contrast, continue to operate cautiously, constrained by limited supply and ongoing uncertainty in steel fundamentals that continues to weigh on bidding confidence. The broader macro backdrop remains largely unchanged. The Middle East conflict continues to support elevated freight earnings, discouraging owners from recycling older vessels. The Baltic Dry Index has shown only marginal softening, easing to 2,031, while oil remains firmly above USD 100/barrel for a seventh consecutive week. The result is a market where higher energy prices continue to extend vessel trading lives, delaying the flow of tonnage into recycling yards. As Week 14 settles into Q2, the industry is left asking a familiar question: when will tonnage begin to arrive in sufficient volume to meet the growing appetite from recyclers, particularly in Bangladesh? For Week 14 of 2026, GMS Market Rankings / vessel indications are as below. Download PDF Source: GMS,Inc. https://www.gmsinc.net/gms_new/index.php/web 2026-04-07 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//conne