Greek owner Safe Bulkers is still looking to add more fuel-efficient newbuildings to its fleet but management says the Greek shipowner isn’t in a hurry, as prices could fall by another 15% or even more by year-end.
Sources said that given ample liquidity on its undrawn facilities ($224m), Safe Bulkers is expected to continue to add strategic newbuild tonnage as shipyards look to build their backlogs.
Safe's chief executive Polys Hajioannou said, "Shipyards are in a very difficult situation as a result of the market downturn and is confident that prices could fall by another 15% or even more by year-end."
Meanwhile, The executive blamed large, speculative orders for disruptions to the supply and demand balance and insisted that Safe’s strategy of building “two or three” fuel-efficient shallow draft ships a year will not have an impact on underlying issues with market fundamentals.