Ship owners turn to second hand bulkers, instead of newbuildings.

Ship owners have reverted to their year-old habit of opting for second hand dry bulk carriers, instead of newbuildings. It is said that it was a week with limited interest in the dry bulk newbuilding market, with just one fresh transaction taking place, a trend that is likely to hold as we are reach closer to the year's close. This came as a continuation to the subdued action that we had noted in the year so far. Compared to the number of new contracts that were reported last year, interest seems to have been minimal this year, mainly due to the overall uncertainty that prevailed in 2020.

The volatility seen in freight earnings and the uninspiring demand-supply balance noted during most of the year, have all helped in trimming investment appetite. We expect interest to slowly start to revive, in line with the global economy during 2021. On the tankers side of things, despite the discouraging environment that has been shaped as of late, last week we noted a series of fresh new orders across different size segments taking place. In the last few weeks, we saw some signs of a rebound in interest from buyers, but we do not expect any significant shift...