The UDS commented on the first auction for the sale of the naval fleet

The first auction for the sale of the UDS fleet did not take place due to the lack of interested participants. The company believes that buyers are waiting for a price reduction.

The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company told about this in a comment to USM.

UDS said that at current freight rates, the fleet is being sold by various companies, so there are many offers on the market.

“Buyers are probably waiting for an even greater price reduction. We came out with an offer to sell the sea fleet six months ago. Due to bureaucratic red tape (not the fault of the company), we lost time and customers who were interested in buying. Now we have what we have. But the fact that the first auction did not take place is not catastrophic. The first auction is a signal from the market that UDS is really ready to sell. After all, there were many conversations that we would not be allowed to sell purely for political reasons,” UDS noted.

At the same time, the company emphasized that, as a rule, the fleet is purchased for the opening of a specific line. The carrier has a certain time window to resolve the issue with the fleet it is going to operate.

“Therefore, we need to calmly wait until one of the carriers has a task for which this type of vessel can be used,” the company explained.

When asked whether the company is considering the option of selling the vessels separately, rather than as a single lot, UDS replied that they are analyzing various options.

“The state must receive a fair price for the asset. If there are no offers at the moment, we will wait. We are definitely not going to sell below the book value,” UDS concluded.

As USM previously reported, the first auction for the sale of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company’s marine fleet did not take place due to the lack of participants. The company put up for sale six vessels as a single lot.