In International Shipping News 09/01/2017
Bulkers have had a deceptively good 2016 following the record lows at the start of the year. The top three bulker owning nations; Greece, Japan and China, have seen their fleets rise by over USD 4 billion each. This growth has been supported by strong acquisitions following some of the lowest asset prices seen since the 1980s.
The German container fleet shrunk by nearly USD 11 billion throughout 2016 after large losses in the sector. The largest softening was experienced in the panamax and post-panamax sectors with some vessels losing up to 60% of their value. German losses are fuelled by this as 59% of their fleet consists of panamax and post-panamax vessels.
Greek tanker owners started 2016 earning more than USD 100,000 /day on their vessels. However, the rest of the year has been predominantly bearish. By the end of 2016 the Greek fleet had shrunk by close to USD 11 billion. Coming in second was the USA whose fleet lost USD 4 billion, less than half of the Greek losses.
Source: VesselsValue
