Precious Shipping's managing director has suggested that increased scrapping and slow steaming should help the dry-bulk sector escape the quagmire it currently finds itself in.

Khalid Hashim's optimistic comment came as the Thai bulker owner reported on Wednesday that its first-quarter net loss slumped to $3.68m, down from $2.67m in the opening three months of 2019.

The slump was attributed in part to a drop in average vessel earnings, which fell from $9,273 per day to $8,398 per day.