Tariffs Destabilizing Ship Recycling Market

The effects of the US 25% tariffs announced on Chinese steel and aluminum products is already seeing destabilizing effects on ship recycling markets, says cash buyer GMS.

“It remains unsure as to where much of this surplus / excess and resultingly cheaper steel will end up, devastating ship recycling prices.”

Compounding market uncertainties have taken center stage, says GMS, with President Trump’s “uncalculated tariff wars sending economies rocking this week, unintentionally targeting the U.S. dollar as the beneficiary to a crisis that is still unfolding, sending it into a tizzy as it declined against nearly all of the major ship recycling destinations, except? You guessed it, Turkey, where it plummeted nearly 0.5% this week, creating an all-time record low.”

As such, questionably interesting times lie ahead, all of which could see a landmark year for ship recycling, with yards still in the process of being upgraded to Hong Kong Convention standards in both Bangladesh and Pakistan, ahead of the convention’s entry into force post June 30th of this year, and Pakistan ending the week with its only delivery of the year.

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