This was due to much of the large LDT Panamax containers, tankers, Capesize bulkers and VLOCs ending up on Chattogram shores this year, GMS said in its weekly report.
However, with the rumours of impending taxes and duties in the lead up to the budget, interest in post-budget units have all but disappeared.
In addition, with Eid week celebration and the local market closed, this resulted in a local port position that’s virtually empty – an uncommon occurrence in Bangladesh for much of 2019.
Although it has been a period of inactivity in Bangladesh with the industry eagerly awaiting the budget announcement in order to gauge the immediate outcome on prices over the next few months, the fine print is still being evaluated in order to determine which direction prices will move.
Yet, despite this uncertainty, certain cash buyers seem prepared to speculate on a positive Bangladesh market moving forward, as evidenced by the conclusion of two Sinokor containerships that fetched massive prices last week.
The ‘Hong Kong Bridge’ (16,317 ltd) and ‘Rotterdam Bridge’ (16,481 ldt) achieved a well above market level of $472 per LDT and $484 per ldt (the latter with a spare propeller on board) for a delivery into the sub-continent range, whilst the MR ‘Brilliant’ (8,450 ldt) received a comparatively decent $421 per LDT basis an ‘as is’ Singapore delivery and about 200 tonnes of bunkers ROB.
Only the weeks ahead will tell if these massive prices were well worth the punt, GMS concluded.