Ship Recycling Market Update Week 26 2026 | Hormuz Traffic Doubles, Oil Falls, Yards Wait

In this Week 26, 2026 episode of the GMS Weekly Podcast, we analyze a turning point for the global ship recycling market as the Strait of Hormuz reopens, vessel traffic begins to recover, Brent crude falls below USD 74 per barrel, and freight markets continue to normalize.

The war premium that supported older vessels trading at sea is now unwinding. Brent has dropped sharply from wartime highs, WTI is below USD 70, and the Baltic Dry Index has eased from its June peak. For ship recycling, this changes the supply outlook: older tonnage has fewer reasons to keep trading, and the first post-reopening sale marker has appeared with the Andhika Paramesti, a 9,369 LDT bulker, sold to Bangladesh at USD 460 per LDT on an as-is Sambu basis.

However, recycling yards across the Indian subcontinent are not yet able to fully absorb the expected candidate flow. Ashura holidays and the South Asian monsoon continue to slow beaching activity in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The result is a market where ships are moving again, the recycling queue is building, but the yards are still waiting for weather and timing to improve.

This episode covers the latest market conditions in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Turkey, including steel prices, currency movements, yard appetite, compliance positioning, and the changing post-war dynamics across Chattogram, Alang, Gadani, and Aliaga.

Key themes this week: Strait of Hormuz reopening, falling oil prices, cooling dry bulk freight, emerging recycling supply, Bangladesh demand, India’s recovering Rupee, Pakistan’s fading wartime premium, Turkey’s regulated niche role, and monsoon-related beaching delays.

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