100 ships lined up for demolition in first 100 days of 2012

Around 100 ships have been beached for demolition in the first 100 days of 2013, according to cash buyer Star Matrix.
In contrast the same number of ships was beached in sixty-five days last year, according to the Mumbai-based brokerage. “These figures show that there is definitely a slowdown in the demand and the likely trend to follow this year,” it said in its market report. “Except for January 2013, the number of ships beached every month so far this year is 40-45% fewer than the corresponding months last year.”
Demolition in the tanker scrapping looks to be letting the side down with total scrapping down 36% on an annualized basis. Figures from Compass Maritime says only three VLCCs have been scrapped in the year to date, half the number scrapped in the first quarter of 2012. The situation is even worse in the suezmax sector were only three ships have been reported scrapped against fourteen in the same period last year, according to the US brokerage.
However, David E Beard at Iberia Capital Partners says that after a slow start to the year the pace of scrapping looks to be picking up. The New Orleans–based institutional research firm says some 400,000-dwt of tanker tonnage was scrapped the previous week. It says 2.2mdwt has been scrapped year-to-date and that the market is on pace to scrap 7.6mdwt this year, or around 2% of the tanker fleet. The situation is healthier on the dry bulk side with scrapping levels down only 18% so far this year on an annualized basis.
Iberia says bulker demolition “continues to stay strong” with an estimated 500,000-dwt of tonnage sold for scrap this past week. It says 8m dwt has been scrapped year-to-date and the market is on pace to scrap 27.7mdwt for the year or 5% of the bulker fleet. Figures from Compass Maritime suggest eighteen capesizes have gone for demolition so far in 2013 against nineteen in the same period last year.
In the smaller panamax segment the gap is somewhat wider with only twenty bulkers scrapped against thirty-six in the first quarter of last year.