Time to buy dry bulk bargains, says chief

With prices of secondhand dry cargo ships falling 30 to 50 per cent in the past two years, now is the time to start buying again, said the head of dry bulk ship operator Pacific Basin Shipping.

Chief executive Mats Berglund said prices had bottomed out and were "definitely not going down". Prices were "on the low side, which is why we see more upside in [ship] values".

Other shipping experts cautiously agreed.

Tim Huxley, the chief executive of tanker and dry bulk operator Wah Kwong Maritime Transport, said "we are certainly in the zone" to buy.

"There is a lot more interest from potential buyers, and volumes in the secondhand market, particularly for bulk carriers, are running at quite high levels," Huxley said. "Even at today's much lower prices though, current charter rates don't really make sense and of course the lack of debt finance available means the number of people who can actually go out and buy is limited to those with cash or access to equity.

"Finding the right deal is proving challenging - there are a lot of pretty poor quality ships on the market, so you have to dig around for the good ones."

Martin Rowe, the managing director of Clarkson Asia, said there were "pockets of sunshine only".