The international outbreak of coronavirus has made it more difficult to complete ship sales.

Chinese buyers remain actively interested in veteran secondhand vessels, according to several sale-and-purchase brokers in the country. But handovers, crew changes and sale closings that were possible just a few weeks ago have fallen victim to quarantine and social distancing measures, brokers say.

Although numerous brokers have reported interest from bargain-hunting Chinese buyers, Pan Hongzhao's Forocean Shipbroking is one of few S&P brokers to have completed a satisfactory number of transactions for Chinese buyers since the Chinese New...