Singapore shipping trust Rickmers has confirmed that it has sold a seven-year-old containership, the youngest ever to be scrapped.
IHS Markit data shows that the ship was initially bought for USD $60 million but the troubled Singapore-based container ship owner has been forced to sell the 2009 Panamax ship to deal with mounting bank debt. The India Rickmers containership (previously known as the Hanjin Newport) has a deadweight of 50,574 tonnes and a capacity of 4,250 TEU.
The ship has been sold in an attempt to repay senior loans from Germany banking company, Commerzbank. According to VesselsValue, the ship now retains a market value of around $5.9 million. According to the same website, 2016 has seen the vessel’s value fall 62%, largely due to the widening of the Panama Canal.
The oversupply in the industry has seen vessel values drop significantly, along with freight rates, meaning younger and younger vessels are being considered for demolition as a means of rebalancing supply and demand in the shipping industry.
The average drop in value across the industry has been 26%, which has contributed heavily to an increase in demolition activity throughout 2016.
Rickmers Maritime now has a fleet of 15 Panamax containerships with an average age of 8 years. The trust has said that it plans to update its holders if there are any more developments.
Port Technology covered the initial developments of Rickmers potentially selling the youngest ever containership sale last month.
