Two key players in the dry bulk market are adopting contrasting views on investments with a slow recovery in store.

SwissMarine chief Peter Weernink has plans to grow the fleet with older ships, while Cargill’s Eric Aboussouan believes it’s better to keep money in the bank for now.

Weernink told the Marine Money forum in London he suspects the company will be buying more ships this year, with the focus likely to be on older vessels which are close to scrap value.

“We think the uncertainly when you think of a life span to 2020 to 2022 is lower on those than in the 2008 to 2012 range,” he said.

Weernink, who expressed concern about a potential restart of newbuilding orders, noted that ships built in the late 1990s and early 2000s showed little difference in fuel consumption relative to anything built before 2013, when the first eco ships were delivered.

In a discussion chaired by AM Nomikos sale and purchase director Jamie Freeland, Aboussouan, head of market research and trading analytics at Cargill, said he saw no need to rush into new investents.

“I would wait. There is no rush. Secondhand values, commodities, equities, all have shown a major upward movement in the last six months,” he told the audience at the Dorchester Hotel.

“I think it’s time for Cargill to take a bit of a breath and let’s look at the options in three or four months time. There is no rush.”

Turning to the freight market, Aboussouan said questions remain around coal and iron ore, while there was a big concern about a restart in newbuilding orders.

“I think the market is cautious about the medium to long term outlook,” he said.

“Everybody wants to be positive. At the same time it’s not so clear we will have a much stronger market in 2018 or 2019. There is a lot of uncertainty about it,” he said.

Weernink expects rates in 2017 to be better than last year. “Eighteen and ’19 we do see a gradual improvement going forward,” he said. “The outlook remains gradual recovery.”