Asian crisis keeps bidders 'shy'

BIDDERS FOR Safmarine have been stuttering because shipping in general has sailed into the doldrums, says Roderick Eton, chairman of the Association of Ship Agents and Brokers of Southern Africa.
You can blame a great deal of it on the Asian crisis, he says, which has played havoc with world commodities and left freight rates at 12-year lows.
Bidders are playing shy, he says, in the current world climate. Cargo volumes have dropped dramatically worldwide in the past two years, he says, and the value of ships has declined correspondingly. There are too many lines fighting for too little cargo.
While running costs remain high, hire rates for container ships have halved in the past year, said Eton, and the position is only likely to improve once part of the world fleet is scrapped in three to five years' time.