Rare capesize scrapping set to proceed

Lila Global has arranged to scrap a 25-year-old capesize vessel, making it the second reported cape to head to the breakers this year. In January, NYK Bulkship Korea scrapped the 27-year-old Lady Cedros, beached at Alang, India. 

After Russia attacked Ukraine, buyers rescued a string of vintage ships from demolition, vessels sold at record prices, often to owners registering them to single-ship brass plaque firms, and many continued transporting coal from Russia. 

One such ship is the 172,571 dwt Winnie, formerly Winning Integrity. Reports indicated that buyers had scrapped the vessel in August 2022, but it reappeared after Winning sold it to Lila Global, the shipowning arm of GMS, a cash buyer for recycled ships. Now, it is finally set for retirement. The ship is registered with Stark Maritime, a small two-ship operation, according to Equasis. Stark also has a second capesize under its name, Lila Dalian, a 2002-built vessel that belongs to the Lila Global fleet. 

Winnie is now waiting for scrapping outside a recycling yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It travelled from China and was in Murmansk as recently as November. 

Overall, the ship recycling sector has been very sluggish in the opening weeks of 2025. “Ship recycling sales have slowed to such an extent that most yards are now either concentrating on recycling their recent deliveries, all while tier-2 recyclers lie dormant in wait to snag a new low-priced deal, helping demand stay afloat even if prices remain  slippery,” GMS noted in its most recent weekly report.