21 Sep 2026
The global ship recycling market entered Week 38 of 2026 with a familiar problem becoming more pronounced: buyers remain active, but strong freight earnings, disrupted Middle East routes and limited vessel supply are keeping ageing ships away from recycling yards.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply during the week, with only four commodity vessels recorded transiting on Thursday compared with a recent ten-day average of around sixteen. Bab al-Mandab traffic was closer to normal at twenty-three vessels against an average nearer twenty-six. Passage through both chokepoints remains possible, but predictability has deteriorated as geopolitical risk, rerouting and higher insurance costs continue to affect voyage economics.
Crude prices eased from the previous week's surge, with Brent moving toward USD 103 per barrel and WTI toward USD 101. Freight also came off recent highs, but not enough to materially change ship recycling supply. The Baltic Dry Index closed Thursday at 3,336, down from 3,521 a week earlier, while Capesize earnings remained close to USD 48,000 per day. For owners of ageing vessels, continued trading and second-hand opportunities remain financially attractive alternatives to recycling.
That dynamic produced the clearest ship recycling signal of Week 38: no fresh sub-continent market sales were reported.
The waterfront, however, remains active. Previously secured vessels continued arriving and delivering across Alang, Chattogram and Gadani. The beaches are receiving ships, but the fresh candidate list remains thin.
Pakistan continues to lead the conventional South Asian ship recycling market. Gadani retains the strongest pricing position for standard dry bulk, tanker and container tonnage, although the lack of available candidates means buyer appetite is not being fully tested. Local steel weakened during the week, with plate prices falling from PKR 200,000 per ton to PKR 195,000 per ton, equivalent to approximately USD 695 per ton by the end of the period. The softer steel market may temper second-tier buying, but vessel scarcity continues to support Pakistan's position.
Bangladesh is showing renewed recycling demand, but Chattogram still needs a stronger competitive number. Local plate remained steady at BDT 64,000 per ton, while the currency stayed close to BDT 123 to the US Dollar. Several previously secured vessels arrived or delivered during the week, confirming that waterfront activity has improved. Fresh sales, however, remain absent, and Pakistan continues to have the edge when suitable conventional tonnage becomes available.
India remains a two-tier market. Alang continues to trail Pakistan and Bangladesh on conventional bulkers and tankers, but specialist, non-ferrous-rich and compliance-sensitive vessels are attracting considerably stronger interest. This distinction remains important when assessing Indian recycling activity because the standard pricing board does not fully reflect the business being concluded in specialist segments.
India's compliance position also gained further international support during the week. Eight major shipping associations jointly urged EU Member States to support the European Commission proposal to add two Indian ship recycling facilities to the European List. The decision remains pending, but the breadth of industry backing adds further momentum to Alang's evolving compliance story.
Turkey is showing a modest post-summer improvement. Indicative Aliaga levels moved to approximately USD 300/LDT for dry vessels, USD 310-315/LDT for tankers and USD 325-330/LDT for containers. The improvement remains selective rather than a challenge to South Asian pricing, with Turkey continuing to rely on geography, specialist tonnage, European regulatory access and Basel-compliant trades.
For Week 38, GMS market indications place Pakistan first, followed by Bangladesh, India and Turkey. Pakistan is indicated at approximately USD 500/LDT for dry bulk vessels, USD 525/LDT for tankers and USD 535/LDT for containers. Bangladesh follows at USD 490, USD 515 and USD 525/LDT respectively, while India is indicated at USD 465, USD 485 and USD 495/LDT.
The bigger story remains vessel supply.
Ship recyclers have appetite. Freight markets are still giving owners reasons to trade. Crude remains above USD 100 per barrel, routing remains disrupted and second-hand alternatives remain available.
The beaches are waiting. The hulls are earning elsewhere.
For detailed vessel indications, market rankings, steel prices, port positions and ship recycling analysis, access GMS Weekly through the GMS website or mobile app.
Download GMS App
