Ship Recycling Markets Stall
The chaos in the Middle East is leaving regional and international markets bracing for the inevitable whirlpool of global insanity that is about to suck the entire world into short-term (at the very least) tumult, reports cash buyer GMS.
Oil was already on its way up during the week, but as the weekend came around, it spiked over 10%, jumping from around USD 63/barrel last week to nearly USD 71.90/barrel (at the time of writing). The Baltic Exchange was also on its way up (rising 1.1%) but remained comparatively subdued in comparison to oil futures…yet.
The Cape, Panamax, and Supra indices all climbed 0.2%, 1.4%, and 3% respectively. Currencies, too, took a hammering, as all of the major ship recycling destinations registered declines across the board. Local steel plate prices also declined across the board, albeit marginally.
Ship recycling activity, being so close to the action, has taken a back seat for now, as markets stall in anticipation of further drama and a lack of sales once again filters through to recycling markets that have already been deprived of tonnage due to recurring geopolitical setbacks.
“Not since the days of COVID have we seen such a significant disruption affect a single region so directly, with ripple effects spreading across the globe.”
GMS market rankings / pricing for week 9 of 2026 are:
