Five-year-old VLCC values dip under $60m, according to Baltic Exchange assessments.
Dipping below $60m is for the first time in over eight years and to the lowest level reported by the Baltic Exchange since it started publishing secondhand sale and purchase assessments in September 2003.
At the end of play on Monday, the London-headquartered freight indices provider reported the average price assessment for a modern 305,000 dwt VLCC from its broker panellists as $59.3m.
This was down $2.1m from the week before and is down $14m over the past six weeks, when it averaged $73.3m in the last week of September.
The price tag is also down 30% from the $85.1m reported by the Baltic Exchange at the start of the year, as dire charter rates that barely allow owners to cover operating costs push owners’ bank balances into the red and put downwards pressure on asset values.
The flood of tonnage as record newbuildings continue to be delivered from Asian shipyards is preventing any improvement in freight rates, forcing owners to slow steam their vessels to try to consume as little fuel as possible and keep daily running costs down.