Does energy efficiency affect ship values in the second-hand market?

This paper investigates whether the energy efficiency of vessels is reflected in sales prices in the second-hand market. Using unique data of nearly 1600 sales transactions over a 21-year period, we consider a hedonic pricing framework in which we control for market conditions, vessel specifications and buyers’ country of origin to identify the specific impact from energy efficiency. Using two indicators for energy efficiency, we find a negative relationship between energy efficiency and sale price with an elasticity around 0.4. Furthermore, our results show a reduction in the influence of energy efficiency on asset values during the drybulk market boom in 2003–2008 compared to the remainder of the sample.