Troubled Dry Bulk Player Looks to Exit Market

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday January 25, 2016

With 2016 already looking even worse for dry bulk than the troubled 2015 it left behind, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has announced in a Korea Stock Exchange filing it is looking to exit the sector.

HMM said it is in talks to sell its bulk shipping fleet to a special-purpose vehicle owned by Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co..

Local media reports citing unnamed banking sources indicated HMM is looking for a sale price of about 600 billion won ($500 million).

As of last week's filing HMM said no decision has yet been made on the sale.

Commodities giant Cargill, meanwhile, last week noted the "significant over supply in the dry bulk freight market at a moment when many new builds are being delivered."

The company said it is responding to the dry bulk collapse by closing down its London office and consolidating activities in Geneva.

"This has been a difficult decision, given the track record of our London office, which has played a very important role over the years, particularly in developing our relationship with the ship owning community in the London market," said Roger Janson, head of Cargill's ocean transportation business.

Cargill added that the market is "in its most distressed position since the mid-1980s, a situation that looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future."

Another player, Scorpio Bulkers, has warned that "we will go under if this market persists."

Ship & Bunker News Team
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