companies & markets
Photo: Andreas Schlatterer
Hebei Express was sold for demolition in
Bangladesh at a healthy $325/ldt
A market-wide drift – downwards
SALE and purchase markets continued to drift
across the sectors, as sellers pulled back and
buyers took a view that continuing inertia
would point the market downwards. Various
holidays, including Golden Week in China, also
contributed to the torpor. Dimitris Koukas,
managing director at Optima Shipbrokers in
Athens, reviewing the latest transactions with
Fairplay, said, “it is clear that the ‘wait and see’
approach during the past weeks has brought
very few sales on the second-hand market,
which seems to be stalling.”
Compass Maritime in New York, noting the
same tentativeness among buyers and sellers,
took a slightly different view, with the coda that
“others continue to step up to the plate – sales
activity picked up this week, but prices
dipped slightly.”
Bargain hunters
One group of companies under the Navios
umbrella continue to show how a confluence
of bargain hunting and financial resources will
drive the market for selected new or modern
DORIS & NAESS
Ship management at its best
with of�ces in Amsterdam, Geneva, Manila, New York
For further details contact Nicolas Wirth at Doris Geneva
Tel: (+41 22) 301 11 12 Fax: (+41 22) 301 04 44 Email:doris@doris.ch Web:www.doris.ch
Container & Multipurpose
MILESTONE (General Cargo Ship) ex-Silver Seaway: sold by Government of The People’s Republic of China, China, to undisclosed
interests, Philippines, $5.50M. 1994. 7,758dwt, 6,155gt. Built
Nishi Co Ltd, B&W/12kt.
MINERAL MONACO (Bulk Carrier): sold by NV CMB SA, Belgium,
to undisclosed interests, China, $52.00M. Last Sale: $37.50M
(2008), 2005. 180,263dwt, 90,091gt. Built Imabari. Saijo
Shipyard, B&W/15kt.
Bulkers
OCEAN PREDATOR (Bulk Carrier) ex-Brilliant Star: sold by
Allocean, United Kingdom, to undisclosed interests, Turkey,
$23.50M. Last Sale: $38.20M (2006), 2002. 48,635dwt,
27,656gt. Built The Hakodate Dock Co Ltd, Mitsubishi/14kt.
BLUE ARIES (Bulk Carrier): sold by Toko Kaiun Kaisha, Japan, to
undisclosed interests, Germany, $13.50M. Last Sale: $12.00M
(2009), 1998. 23,612dwt, 14,446gt. Built KK Kanasashi,
Mitsubishi/14kt.
ORIENT SAORI (Bulk Carrier) ex-Sea Navigator: sold by
undisclosed interests, to undisclosed interests, Greece,
$14.20M. 1997. 30,835dwt, 18,866gt. Built Minami-Nippon.
Mitsubishi/14kt.
36 Fairplay 1 October 2009
SHANGOR (Bulk Carrier): sold by Bourbon, France, to
undisclosed interests, $23.00M. 2001. 48,910dwt, 27,198gt.
Built Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co Ltd (NACKS),
B&W/14kt.
Tankers
KURZEME and VIDZEME sold en bloc by Latvian Shipping Co
(Latvijas Kugnieciba), Latvia, to undisclosed interests, United
Kingdom, $53.00M. KURZEME (LPG Tanker): 1997. 23,469dwt,
18,503gt. Built Hyundai HI Co Ltd, B&W, 9,891bhp/16kt.
VIDZEME (LPG Tanker): 1997. 23,479dwt, 18,503gt. Built Hyundai HI Co Ltd, B&W, 9,891bhp/15kt.
www.fairplay.co.uk
sale & purchase
vessels. Navios Maritime Holdings was able
to fund the purchase of the Supramax Navios
Celestial (a ‘Tess 56’) on a resale set to deliver in
October 2009 from a Japanese yard, according
to brokers. Some sources hinted that the vessel,
possibly the Anna Johanna, set to deliver from
Tsuneishi Cebu to a German owner, was reportedly resold (to a new Chinese owner) several
weeks ago. The total price of $36.2M was funded
mainly with cash (coming on the heels of an
institutional share offering), but partly with the
$5M in newly issued convertible preferred shares
that will be held by the yard. In analogous Capesize deals announced three months ago, Navios
issued similar shares to a Korean yard.
Brokers were also reporting a three-ship
resale within China, from Zhejiang Zhenghe
to buyer Nanjing Ocean Shipping (NASCO). A
57,000dwt Supramax, five holds/hatches and
four cranes at 30 tonnes, with December 2009
delivery, was transacted at $29M. Two sister
ships for delivery in 2010 were agreed at $27M
each. The 1999-built (Sumitomo) Panamax Jacaranda was reported sold to US-based buyers for
around $27M. As evidence of a downward drift,
Compass noted that a similar vessel, but built in
1998, achieved the same price in early August.
Smaller and older tonnage favoured
Continuing a pattern from recent weeks, most
of the market activity centred on smaller older
dry bulk tonnage. Chinese buyers were said to
have agreed to buy the 1994 IHI-built 43,000dwt
Handymax Lake Globe for $16M. The putative
seller, Globus, has been reducing its fleet during
the year, by selling two other Handymaxes in
the past few months, most recently Gulf Globe
for $16M in early June, and using proceeds to
build liquidity and pay down banking debt. Bulgarian-built, 38,461dwt Scanda, was reported
sold for $8.5M, while the 32,755dwt Imandra
RACER A (Oil Products Tanker) ex-Racer: sold by Ancora Investment Trust, Greece, to undisclosed interests, Indonesia, $2.50M.
Last Sale: $13.25M (2001), 1989. 29,998dwt, 18,033gt. Built
Minami-Nippon. B&W/14kt.
Sold for Demolition
B. PRUS (General Cargo Ship) ex-Concordia Sun: sold by undisclosed interests, $2.40M (280.00/ldt), 1979. 24,400dwt, 16,869gt,
670TEU. Built Kaldnes Mek. Verksted AS, Sulzer/18kt.
CAPTAIN VALENTIN K (Container Ship) ex-Noble River: sold by
Chester Shipping, Greece, $0.99M (174.00/ldt), 1983. 13,996dwt,
9,948gt, 827TEU. Built Orenstein & Koppel AG, MaK/14kt.
www.fairplay.co.uk
(built in Szczecin, 1985) went for $8.5M.
In the multi-purpose arena, the Keppel-built
Clipper Sterling, (21,000dwt, three 36-tonne
cranes, built 1999), with ability to handle
847teu, was sold for $13.1M.
On the tanker front, another ‘distress’ situation might be playing out with a financial angle,
amid complex legal manoeuvering, concerning US Shipping Partners, LP (USSLP), which
declared bankruptcy last April. So far bids for
the company ranging between $255M and
$300M have been received. A court review of
USSLP’s pre-packaged bankruptcy is set for this
week. Its fleet comprises 11 Jones Act vessels
(including four units facing OPA-phaseouts) and
a newbuild programme of as many as 10 additional refined product and chemical vessels.
The demolition area continues to be busy.
Optima’s Koukas told Fairplay that “it is absolutely certain that demolition activity will be
growing exponentially in the coming weeks.”
After pointing to an escalating supply of vessels, he continued, “the majority of the supply
will come from the tanker market due to the
dramatic drop in the chartering market.” Mindful
of looming regulatory deadlines, he said that
the additional available vessels supply would be
boosted with single-hull phase-outs.
Reported bulker sales include two Romanian
built Panamaxes, Frank Zheijang (17,790ldt)
which attained a healthy $317/ldt, and the
Hebei Express, which achieved $325/ldt, both
sold to Bangladesh. China’s demolition yards
paid less. Five Stars Global (8,542ldt) managed
only $265/ldt to Chinese breakers.
The 1985-built Aframax Agate (14,314ldt) was
reported sold into Bangladesh, at $365/ldt. An
MR vessel, Anawan (11,270 ldt), went for
a stronger $393/ldt. In contrast, Turkish customers paid $185/ldt for the 4,000dwt tanker
Zeynap Ka.
Valuations: an
alternative approach
GERMAN shipping banks and shipowners may
be able to avoid crippling asset writedowns
following the approval of the new Hamburg Ship
Evaluation Standard by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The formula for the calculation of a ship’s longterm asset value (LTAV) which takes into account
charter employment, market prospects and historical asset prices, represents an alternative approach
to value assessments.
As a discounted cash flow method, it arrives at
more conservative values than the extreme highs
and lows recorded in the sale and purchase markets
during booms and slumps.
The deviation from traditional spot value assessments tends to be within a 15% corridor, the
Hamburg Shipbrokers Association (Vereinigung
Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten, VHSS)
said. Banks and owners can use the scheme to back
up higher ship value estimates than seen in recent
fire sales, concluded under what they regard as
abnormal market conditions.
They can thus keep loan-to-value ratios on wellperforming vessels under control and avoid covenant breaches that would strain the balance sheets
of both banks and owners.
A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, presented
in Hamburg on 22 September found that the LTAV
formula is a plausible and appropriate tool.
Details of the standard, including forward interest rate curves and forecast periods, have been
revised since its first introduction in February
in order to comply with German accountancy standards (IDW-S1).
Both HSH Nordbank and Deutsche Schiffsbank
have declared that they intend to apply the formula
for fleet valuations.
CATTLEYA ACE (Vehicles Carrier): sold by Mitsui OSK Lines
(MOL), Japan, $3.86M (285.00/ldt), 1988. 18,762dwt,
56,823gt. Built Oshima, Mitsubishi/22kt.
FIVE STARS GLOBAL (Bulk Carrier) ex-Beta I: sold by Government
of The People’s Republic of China, China, $2.26M (265.00/ldt),
1977. 40,754dwt, 23,705gt. Built Sanoyasu, Sulzer/14kt.
CRYSTAL IRIS sold en bloc by Lomar Shipping, United Kingdom, to undisclosed interests, Russia, $1.89M (325.00/ldt)
CRYSTAL IRIS (Refrigerated Cargo Ship) ex-Silver Night:
1981. 10,452dwt, 9,715gt, 140TEU. Built Astilleros Alianza,
Sulzer/20kt.
JO OAK (Chemical/Oil Products Tanker): sold by Executive
Ship Management, Singapore, $7.28M (680.00/ldt), 1983.
39,161dwt, 22,772gt. Built AS Bergens Mek. Verksteder,
B&W/16kt.
ETERNAL ACE (Vehicles Carrier): sold by Mitsui OSK Lines
(MOL), Japan, $4.00M (285.00/ldt), 1988. 18,701dwt,
55,380gt. Built Mitsui, B&W, 13,510bhp/19kt.
SANTA FE (General Cargo Ship): sold by Swiss Marine, Greece,
$3.12M (330.00/ldt), 1978. 15,011dwt, 11,524gt, 449TEU. Built
Nipponkai HI, B&W/15kt.
All details given in good faith but without guarantee
1 October 2009 Fairplay 37