Dry Bulk Ships Seen Re-Sold While Being Built on Defaults

At least 45 of the largest dry-bulk vessels were re-sold in 2012 while being built at shipyards because delays led to cancellations or the original orderer defaulted on the contract, RS Platou Economic Research said.

Most of the re-sales of Capesize- or Panamax-sized ships, used to transport coal, iron ore and grains, were from Chinese shipyards, according to the Oslo-based research unit of Norway’s biggest shipbroker. The sales contributed to a doubling in the number of such vessels sold in 2012 compared with the prior year, RS Platou said, without providing a figure.

Values for re-sold vessels dropped 15 to 20 percent over the year, with discounts partly attributed to some shipyards’ older or poorer designs, Platou said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Wiese Bockmann in London at mwiesebockma@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net