GMS Podcasts

Subcontinent markets have taken a turn for the worse this week as collapsing steel prices in India and Eid holidays in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey have led to weaker sentiment and virtually no new offers on any available tonnage.  Are the fundamentals changing or will normal record-high service be resumed when Bangladeshi breakers are back from their break?  

A fresh look at the use of AI data to help avoid sanction headaches, counterparty due diligence, establishing an appropriate level of evidence, ESG (moral sanctions – self-regulation) and the role of human intuition and experience in interpreting data.

Demo prices and analysis from the key ship recycling locations of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey. This week we hear from GMS Trader Kiran Thorat on what is driving prices up in India, what to expect from Bangladesh recyclers between now and Monsoon and what happened to the US$700/ton being discussed in recent weeks.

Container market analyst Peter Sand on what’s driving the box ship market, the impact of China’s Shanghai lockdown, how shippers are now adapting to a sustained period of inflated freight rates, and how owners weigh up the options to recycle vs further trading.

GMS’ weekly round-up of the ship recycling markets in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey. 10 minutes or less of the key talking points covering demo prices, trends, and notable vessel disposals.

This week Jon Chaplin talks to GMS Trader Kamal Datta about the “plummet from the summit” in Bangladesh, the Indian recycling roller coaster, a resurgent Pakistan and the impact of the Russia / Ukraine conflict on oil and steel prices.

In its latest podcast, GMS talks to leading shipping barrister James M. Turner QC of Quadrant Chambers about the challenges associated with scrapping large vessels and the moves towards better standards in India and Bangladesh.

Confirmation last week of Norway’s first jail term handed down to a shipowner for illegal scrapping has turned the spotlight back on the laws governing ship recycling. “It’s a minefield,” admits Turner referring to both the reputation risk and the threat of conventional litigation “if [shipowners] don’t get it absolutely right.”

Quizzed on what shipowners can do to protect themselves when recycling, Turner draws a distinction between a negative and positive approach.

“If you don’t want to be held liable, which is the negative approach, you have to bear in mind that merely because you no longer own the ship when it is taken to the yard, that may not be an answer to a claim brought against you.” He goes on to say, that although not yet tested in court, owners may be able to protect themselves to some extent by “requiring that [the ship] goes to a yard that is Hong Kong certified.”

A more positive approach he says, is to consider your company’s ESG aspirations and “pick a yard that has a good reputation, the right certification” and consider engaging a compliance monitoring service to oversee the dismantling, noting that GMS offers clients’ a sustainable recycling package via its Sustainable Ship & Offshore Recycling Program (SSORP).

Turner says he has sympathy for shipowners with recycling decisions on the table. “You’ve got an asset which can realise some money at the end of its life” and suggests owners should plan accordingly as their vessels approach end of life. Owners who fall foul of the law and find themselves with their “foot in the trap” do so with their eyes open he says, now that “it’s perfectly possible to do the right thing”.

Changes in the way ships are recycled at the waterfront is happening “as recycling yards come to experience that there is money to be made in doing a job properly”. Turner points to “so much of the world’s tonnage” that will be pushed towards recycling in order to meet the climate change goals.

GMS’ weekly round-up of the ship recycling markets in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey. 10 minutes or less of the key talking points covering demo prices, trends, and notable vessel disposals.

This week Jon Chaplin talks to GMS Senior Trader Vagelis Chatzigiannis about the challenges of scrap price volatility, market corrections, a return to confidence in Alang, and the reasons for prices edging towards an eye-watering USD 500/LDT in Turkey.  

GMS’ weekly round-up of the ship recycling markets in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey. 10 minutes or less of the key talking points covering demo prices, trends and notable vessel disposals. This week Jon Chaplin talks to GMS Trader Faidon Panagiotopoulos about record prices, end buyer hesitancy, market corrections, why more ships are not coming to the market, and much more.

Leading maritime lawyers discuss the challenges for shipping posed by an “unprecedented” range of maritime sanctions against Russia. What do sanctions mean for chartering contracts, sale and purchase, KYC and staying on the right side of OFAC.

GMS’ weekly round-up of the ship recycling markets in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey. 10 minutes or less of the key talking points covering ship demo prices, trends, and notable vessel disposals. This week Jon Chaplin talks to GMS Trader Jamie Dalzell.