Korean giant Sinokor has turned its focus to suezmax tankers, reshaping pricing and driving benchmark values higher, reports Singapore's Splash 247.

The company committed about US$83 million per vessel for 10-year-old South Korean-built units, lifting suezmax values by roughly 10 per cent. Purchases included the Aegean Vision and Silverway, both built in 2017, and the Aegean Marathon, built in 2016, each at US$82 million.

Analysts said the pricing is approaching Chinese newbuilding berth costs for forward delivery, signalling a possible fleet renewal inflection point. Gibson noted it remains challenging to price vessels across tanker segments, but deals are being struck at extraordinary levels.

Overall tanker sale and purchase volumes slumped 63 per cent year on year to 15 reported sales in March, compared with 40 last year. Dry bulk activity also fell sharply, with just 29 bulker sales compared to 78 a year earlier.

Despite weaker volumes, values remain firm. Japanese owners sold kamsarmaxes including Loch Long for $23 million and MG Mercury for $28.5 million. Greek buyers acquired ultramaxes Casda and Gemma en bloc for $61 million.

Container sale and purchase activity stayed muted in March after the Gulf closure, but resilience was noted in second-hand deals. Hammonia Baltica was rumoured sold in the low $30 millions to Hai An, while Erasmus Oasis changed hands for $11 million. MSC bought Margarete Schulte and Lucie Schulte en bloc for $50 million.

Drewry reported global spot rates for 40ft containers up about 15 per cent, with time-charter indices firming on tighter supply, Asian port congestion and slower fleet speeds. Braemar said the market remains resilient and expects this to continue.