Ship buying and selling activity began on a negative trajectory in 2025, mainly due to broader market uncertainty, with Greek and Chinese shipowners monopolizing confirmed transactions.
In its latest report, shipping brokerage Allied Shipbroking revealed that S&P (Sale & Purchase) transactions fell sharply during the first quarter of the year, with 365 ships changing hands.
This number is down by around 28% compared to the same period in 2024 (506 deals), while in terms of tonnage (dwt) the decrease is close to 30%.
At the same time, the comparison with the first quarter of 2023 (499 deals) represents a decrease in activity of 27%.
Allied data showed that tanker sales remained relatively stable with 99 transactions, compared to 143 in the first three months of 2024.
However, the activity for the dry bulk market is somewhat worse, with total deals shrinking to 168 units, from 237 the previous year.
In fact, this slowdown was most noticeable in the larger capesize segment, which had lower transaction volumes (26 vs. 126) despite signs of strengthening charter market fundamentals.
