Dry bulk industry players told attendees at theCapital Link shipping conference in London on Wednesday that slowing demand for commodities and a glut of vessels will keep pressure on the sector until well into 2016, Reuters reports.

"Our view is that the first half of 2016 is going to be challenging especially as a lot of the new buildings that were supposed to be delivered in 2015 are being pushed back to 2016," saidChristos Begleris, co-CFO for Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Star Bulk), at the conference.

"Most of those would have to be delivered in 2016 and therefore the supply-demand equation is going to be challenged in the first half of the year."

Jens Ismar, CEO of Western Bulk, who echoed Begleris' sentiments, said that he predicts that 2016 is "going to be a tough year."

"The market needs to rebalance and work on the supply side," added Ismar.

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The market needs to rebalance and work on the supply side.

 

 

Jens Ismar, CEO, Western Bulk

Herman Billung, CEO of Bermuda-basedGolden Ocean Group, commenting on the market's prospects, said that "the uncertainty inChina is not to be under-estimated. China is in a transition.

"My view is it is more a supply driven situation than demand driven right now," explained Billing.

George Achniotis, CFO at Navios Maritime Holdings Inc., says he believes that "no one knows exactly when the market will recover. The number one priority is to preserve cash."

In September, Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd (Drewry) asserted that the dry bulk market is a "casualty" of iron ore and coal prices, which are in a "virtual free fall" due to shrinking demand, with any relief for the sector still a "long way off."

On Wednesday, it was reported that Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (Pacific Basin) says that ongoing woes for dry bulk could mean more companies in the sector falling victim to financial distress following the recent collapse of Japanese dry bulk shipping firm Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha (DCKK), which last week filed for bankruptcy protection with roughly ¥120 billion ($1 billion) in liabilities.