The dry bulk market is ready to rebound. “Looking at the historical trend of the asset values and freight rates in the last four decades, I think there will be opportunities arising in the dry bulk market from now onwards,” said Lorenzo Banchero, chairman of the broking house Banchero Costa speaking at a recent conference held in Genoa. Looking at the figures he thinks that the downturn may be at the final stage and therefore this may be the right moment to be in a buying mood.

The seasoned Italian shipbroker said: “Italian shipowners were not particularly active in dry and liquid bulk shipping in the recent past.” He remembered when “in Genoa there were 46 shipping companies while today you can count them on the fingers of one hand”.

Generally speaking and commenting on how the Italian ship owners acted in the last decade on the market, Banchero said: “Any investor should not forget to sell the ship when the asset value is high because also a long time charter may not be a good choice sometime. I remember when I was young and a charterer, after failing to respect the terms of the agreement, told me: a contract is just a base for further negotiations.”

Concluding Banchero invited young investors to be proactive and dynamic because “the money is available: you just need to look for them.”