Secondhand activity covered both dry bulk and tankers this week, while the newbuilding order book kept adding tonnage across nearly every tanker size.
The week’s largest secondhand deal came in the Suezmax sector. A 2016-built unit changed hands for a price in the low to mid USD 80 million range, fitted with a scrubber and built at a Chinese yard. Further down the size scale, an MR tanker built in 2011 sold for a price in the high USD 26 million range, on a charter-free basis with October delivery. A stainless steel chemical tanker from 2011, fitted with eighteen pumps, went to Vietnamese buyers for a price in the region of USD 22 million.
Newbuilding orders for tankers stayed heavy through the week. A pair of 158,000 dwt Suezmax tankers was contracted at USD 93 million each, with options declared and scrubbers fitted. A six-vessel order for 41,000 dwt MR tankers followed at USD 51.3 million each, tied to a five-year charter. Two 73,500 dwt LR tankers were ordered at USD 55.1 million each, and four 29,000 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers were contracted at USD 45 million each. A larger crude tanker order, four units near 319,000 dwt, was placed at USD 125 million each on a fifteen-year charter. Gas carrier ordering also featured, with four 175,000 cbm LNG carriers contracted at USD 250 million each and two 90,000 cbm VLGCs at USD 118 million each.
The breadth of this week’s tanker contracting, spanning MR, LR, Suezmax and crude-size tonnage in a single week, points to owners locking in yard slots while long-term charter cover remains available. The LNG and VLGC orders extend that pattern into gas, where newbuilding pricing has held firm even as owners weigh propulsion choices for delivery dates running into 2029 and 2030.
The Post Panamax sector produced the week’s clearest data point. A 2011-built unit of 92,648 dwt sold to Chinese buyers for USD 15.25 million. In the Panamax sector, a 2006-built vessel changed hands off market at USD 14.5 million, while an older 2007-built unit sold for a price in the high USD 11 million range, already delivered.
Ultramax tonnage saw two clear sales. A 2016-built unit of 63,590 dwt sold for USD 31 million, and a sister-year vessel of a similar size went to Turkish interests for a price just above USD 26 million. In the Supramax sector, an older 2003-built unit sold to Chinese buyers for USD 7.9 million, reflecting the discount attached to tonnage of that age. At the newer end of the market, a 2025-built Handysize bulk carrier sold for USD 34 million, effectively a newbuilding resale.
Newbuilding contracting in dry bulk centred on larger tonnage. Two 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax bulk carriers were ordered at USD 80 million each, with options declared for two further units and a long-term charter attached. A 266,000 dwt ore carrier was also contracted, price undisclosed, alongside a five-vessel Handysize order at 40,500 dwt, priced at USD 30 million each. A separate order for 181,500 dwt bulk carriers was placed at an undisclosed price, and further Handysize and general cargo interest was noted at Chinese yards for delivery toward the end of the decade.
The gap between the Post Panamax and Ultramax sale prices and the fresh Handysize contracting suggests owners are still finding daylight between secondhand and newbuild economics at the smaller end of the dry bulk fleet, even as larger Capesize-adjacent tonnage draws steady ordering interest.
The recycling market split along destination lines this week. China reappeared as a buyer of scale, taking a 1997-built bulk carrier at USD 338 per ldt and a pair of 2005 and 2006-built tankers en bloc at USD 485 per ldt each. Bangladesh held a steadier tone, absorbing a 1995-built bulk carrier at USD 470 per ldt, a 1998-built bulk carrier at USD 480 per ldt, and a 1994-built reefer at USD 470 per ldt. India took the week’s highest price, a 1995-built reefer carrying substantial aluminium content, at USD 565 per ldt. A general cargo vessel built in 1996 also sold for Bangladesh recycling, price undisclosed.
The spread between China’s lower-value bulk carrier price and the sub-continent’s tonnage suggests owners are still weighing destination against compliance and cash-buyer terms rather than chasing the highest headline number alone. Reefer tonnage with recoverable non-ferrous content continued to command a premium over standard bulk carriers and general cargo units of similar age. The en bloc tanker sale to China, at a matched price for both sisters, points to a single negotiated package rather than two independently agreed deals, a pattern increasingly common on older tonnage nearing the end of its trading life.
