According to an article published in Riviera Maritime Media, LISW delegates say that Panamax container ship values have been rising for months but there is still time to secure a bargain.
Glimmer hope for investors
Speaking at the 12th Annual Capital Link Shipping & Marine Services Forum held during London International Shipping Week (LISW), VesselsValue’s chief operating officer Adrian Economakis provided a glimmer of hope for container ship investors.
When asked about forthcoming values in the sector Mr Economakis stated that the value lies in the Panamax sector.
Panamax sector
Mr Economakis told the delegates in one of the many venues used during London International Shipping Week:
- Values in the Panamax sector have risen 18% in the last 12 months to US$20M.
- This is still a long way below the long-term median of US$29M.
- According to forecast model developed, Panamax values are expected to climb by 53% by 2021.
Value of Five-year-old Panamax ship
According to VesselsValue, the estimate for a five-year-old Panamax container ship is currently US$20.3M.
There are 718 Panamax container ships in the container ship fleet. This sector has been overtaken by the new Panamax container ships (also known as Neo-Panamax) which cover vessels built to the beam of the new Panama locks.
Flexibility opened old Panamax new trades
For a while, this left the older Panamax in the shade, but the reduced values and greater flexibility encouraged a cascade effect and the old Panamax opened new trades.
However, this did not lead to renewed contracting in the sector. Since 2014, only 10 Panamax newbuildings have entered the fleet and the average age of this sector is nearly 13 years old.
Nonetheless, this sector still amounts to nearly 15% of the current container ship fleet.
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Source: Riviera Maritime Media
