Greek owners take cautious approach in dry bulk market amid pricing correction

The dry sector has recently experienced a correction in prices, particularly in the sub-Capesize segment, which has been impacted by a sluggish chartering environment.

Riviera recently reported asset values for sub-Capesize vessels aged five to 15 years have softened by 1% to 10% over the past month. Despite this correction, vessel values remain relatively healthy, and still higher than expected given the weak conditions in the charter market. 

As a result, many industry players are adopting a wait-and-see approach to observe how the market evolves by the end of the year. Greek shipowners, in particular, seem to be following this cautious strategy, becoming more conservative, according to shipbroking firm WeberSeas. "The majority agree there is a discrepancy between vessel values and the freight market," analysts highlighted in their latest weekly report.

What to expect

WeberSeas believes many Greek shipping companies have come to terms with the fact that prices are unlikely to correct significantly in the short term, due to the strong liquidity that still exists in the market after three relatively strong years. Additionally, high newbuild prices lend further support to this outlook.

"Stability is likely to persist until the end of the year, but we anticipate further price declines from January to April 2025," a senior executive from a major Greek shipowner told Riviera.

The first quarter is typically a weak period for the dry bulk sector. However, in 2024, this trend shifted, with rates performing stronger than expected. Despite this, many owners are not confident history will repeat itself next year.

Greek shipowners’ 2024 transactions

Data from WeberSeas, provided to Riviera, depicts that Greek shipping companies purchased around 125 secondhand bulk carriers between January and September this year. Greeks continue to top the list of buyers in the Kamsarmax, Ultramax and Handysize segments.

A previous study by Riviera, focused on the first half of 2024, indicated Greek owners had acquired 95 bulk carriers during that period. These figures reflect a slowdown in Greek investments during the third quarter, in line with the broader market trend. Data from shipbroking house Howe Robinson shows 119 bulk carriers changed hands between July and mid-September, down from 162 in Q3 2023, and below the 2019-2022 average of 149 vessels for the same period.

In the last 12 months, according to Allied Shipbroking’s latest weekly report, Greek shipowners have added 152 secondhand bulk carriers to their fleets. However, they lost their top spot on the buyers’ list to Chinese owners, who purchased 185 vessels during the same period.