Secondhand activity stayed active this week, with tankers led by a fresh run of VLCC purchases and dry bulk trading across the Capesize through Handysize size range.
VLCC business again dominated tanker activity, with ADNOC’s clients extending last week’s buying into new territory. The 2017-built sisters Front Humber and Front Vefsna, each around 298,000 dwt, sold en bloc at USD 135 million per vessel. ADNOC also acquired the 2013-built Celeste Nova, 318,510 dwt, in a separate transaction at USD 120 million. Further down the size curve, the 2008-built LR2 Velos Emerald, 115,042 dwt, sold to Chinese buyers at USD 50 million. The 2004-built MR tanker Dhan Laxmi, 50,353 dwt, changed hands at USD 11.85 million, and the 2012-built chemical and oil products tanker Ding Heng 36, 19,098 dwt, sold at USD 22.7 million.
Newbuilding orders extended the tanker theme through the week. Centrofin Management contracted six Aframax LR2 tankers of 114,000 dwt at Titan Wind, priced around USD 71 million each for delivery between 2028 and 2031. Arcadia Shipmanagement placed a further three sister vessels at Hengli Heavy Industries, taking its order book at that yard to nine units. China Merchants Energy Shipping, through its Hai Hong Shipping subsidiary, ordered five comparable Aframax LR2 tankers at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry at approximately USD 73.7 million each. Nautilus Management placed its first tanker order, a single MR1 products carrier with an option for a second unit, at Wuhu Shipyard.
Dry bulk transactions covered a wide spread of ages and sizes. In the Capesize sector, the 2011-built Orange Tiger, 181,395 dwt, sold to Greek buyers at USD 36.5 million, and the 2012-built Aanya, 179,628 dwt, sold to Chinese buyers at USD 36.9 million, both delivered from Japanese yards. Panamax activity was led by the 2019-built Aquavita Aim, 82,192 dwt, sold to European buyers at USD 38.2 million, a firm level for eco tonnage of that age. The 2015-built Medi Positano and Royal Hope, both around 81,000 dwt, sold at USD 31.3 million and USD 31.2 million respectively. At the older end of the same sector, the 2008-built Francesco Corrado, 77,061 dwt, sold to South Korean buyers at USD 15 million, matching the price achieved last month by its sister vessel.
Supramax and Handysize business stayed active through the middle and lower end of the size curve. The 2015-built Union Lotus, 63,685 dwt, sold at USD 26 million, while the 2001-built Glory Bridge and the 2004-built Jin Hang Fu Zhan, at 50,077 dwt and 49,420 dwt respectively, sold at USD 7.5 million and USD 9.2 million. The 2015-built V Due, 37,877 dwt, sold at USD 18.8 million with a time charter attached through the end of 2026, and the 1999-built Rong Fu, 28,419 dwt, sold to Chinese buyers at USD 4.8 million.
Newbuilding interest in dry bulk concentrated on larger tonnage backed by long-term employment. Polaris Shipping ordered four 210,000 dwt bulk carriers at Qingdao Beihai, priced around USD 105 million each for 2030 delivery, understood to be backed by long-term charters to Vale for Brazilian iron ore and built to run on ethanol. New Yangtze Navigation added two 212,000 dwt bulk carriers at Zhoushan Changhong International at approximately USD 80 million each, and a Norwegian owner contracted two 211,000 dwt Newcastlemax vessels at Tangshan Dajin Offshore Engineering at around USD 70 million each, both for 2029 delivery.
Confirmed sales were limited this week, though appetite across the subcontinent stayed firm. Freight provided the backdrop: the Baltic Dry Index rose through four consecutive sessions to cross 3,000 points for the first time since early June, with Capesize earnings up more than twenty per cent over the week, a combination that keeps ageing bulk tonnage trading rather than heading to the beach. Bangladesh led pricing after clearing its flood-era backlog through the July tide window, with anchorage capacity rebuilding ahead of the next cycle. India held steady, with Alang buyers competing actively for available candidates. Pakistan firmed as Gadani buyers secured several units after a period of thin availability. Turkey remained the least competitive of the four markets on price.
Among reported sales, the 2006-built bulk carrier Orange Link, 16,552 dwt, sold at USD 465 per ldt for delivery to Bangladesh. The 1998-built tanker FT Island, around 311,000 dwt, sold at USD 390 per ldt to India, having reportedly been agreed some months earlier and only now arriving for recycling. The 1992-built gas carrier Double In, 56,864 dwt, sold at USD 445 per ldt to India, with the price including bunkers remaining on board. A handful of smaller general cargo and tanker units changed hands in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and India without prices disclosed.
