Baltic Exchange: Maritime market highlights 19-23 April

Bulk carriers

-Capesize

• The Capesize market this week reached rate levels equivalent of last year’s highs.
• The 5TC rose $6,242 to settle at the end of the week at $34,762.
• The Transatlantic C8 roared to life throughout the week and is now the premium paying basin up $12,675 to $37,450.
• The fronthaul C9 has surpassed last year’s peak as Charterers have found little respite from owners in the usual lightly tonnaged region.
• The more surprising move comes from the Backhaul C16 as owners are demanding premiums for their vessels to perform the longer durations on coal from East Australia to the Continent.

-Panamax 

• Another contrasting week, this time starting out in a bullish fashion, only for rates to ease as Charterers retracted as an FFA sell-off seemed to derail activity resulting in a multitude of deals fixing and failing.
• Up until this change in trend, the EC South America round trips were well supported with several deals concluded. Rates ranging from an 81,000-dwt rumoured to have achieved $26,750 delivery prompt Singapore to $23,600 basis similar delivery/size ship.
• Aside from some robust numbers for short-duration fronthaul trips, it was the story of a wide bid/offer gap in the North Atlantic with moderate activity overall. Asia proved to be broadly NoPac and Indonesia round trip centric with solid support again up until Thursday when the brakes were put on, typified finely by route P5.
• The Indonesian round trip beginning the week priced at $21,416 to reach $27,219 by Thursday, before easing again on Friday.

-Ultramax/Supramax

• A positive week generally for the sector, mainly led by strong demand across the Asian arena with increased cargo enquiry.
• The period activity was seen with a 63,000-dwt open China fixing three to five months trading at $26,500.
• The Atlantic remained steady, but the focus was from east coast south America. An Ultramax fixing a fronthaul at $21,250 plus $1.1 million ballast bonus.
• Elsewhere, from the Mediterranean, more enquiries saw a 52,000-dwt fixing from east Mediterranean to south east Asia in the low $30,000s.

-Handysize

• The Handy sector continued to improve this week with the BHSI gaining 86 points since last Friday. We have seen Period fixtures in both basins this week.
• A 34,000-dwt in Venezuela fixing three to five months at $15,500 redelivery Atlantic and a 37,000-dwt in South East Asia was rumoured to have fixed for four to six months at around $20,000.
• A 34,000-dwt was fixed for two to three Laden Legs from South East Asia at $25,000 with redelivery for end April delivery.
• In east coast South America, we have seen the biggest movement with a 37,000-dwt fixed on Monday at $18,000 for a trip from Brazil to the Continent.
• By the end of the week, another 37,000-dwt had fixed a trip from Santos to Morocco at $20,000.
• In Asia, a 37,000-dwt open Hong Kong fixed a trip via Australia to Japan at $23,000.

Tankers

-VLCC

• In the Middle East the market for 280,000mt Middle East to US Gulf trip (routing via the Cape/Cape) is assessed flat at WS19, while rates for 270,000mt to China have eased one point to about WS34, which shows a round-trip TCE of about $965.
• In the Atlantic rates for 260,000mt West Africa to China also remained static at the WS34.5 level, a round-trip TCE of about $2.6k/day and 270,000mt from US Gulf to China saw rates fall around $150k to $4.23m (about $5.7k/day TCE round-trip).

-Suezmax

• In the 135,000mt Black Sea/Med market rates have steadied at WS65 (~$1.2k/day TCE).
• In the 130,000mt Nigeria/UK Continent market, rates improved about three points to close to WS60 (~$5.6k/day TCE round-trip).
• The market for 140,000mt Basrah/Med remained flat at WS21 where a couple of fixtures were reported this week at WS19.5 by a Spanish charterer and WS22.5 by an oil major.

-Aframax

• In the Mediterranean, the market has eased again – albeit slightly – with rates for 80,000mt Ceyhan/Lavera dipping about 1.5 points to high WS70s (a TCE of about -$500/day basis a round voyage).
• In Northern Europe, the market for 80,000mt Cross-North Sea remained at WS86 level (-$3.3k/day TCE) while rates for 100,000mt Baltic/UK Continent modestly gained about 3.5 points to the WS62.5 region (about $500/day TCE).
• On the other side of the Atlantic, the market firmed during the week with rates for 70,000mt Caribbean/US Gulf climbing 25 points to WS107.5 (a TCE of about $8.4k/day). For 70,000mt US Gulf/UK Continent rates improved by about 13.5 points to WS94/95 level.

-Clean

• Charterers have generally been in the driving seat this week and have been quick to exploit the negative sentiment in the market.
• In the 75,000mt market from Middle East Gulf to Japan rates continued their losing streak and lost 7.5 points to WS80.
• It was a similar story on the LR1s with rates for 55,000mt to Japan down around 7.5 points to WS106.5 with potential to soften further.