Capesize (Atlantic and Pacific)
The Capesize market was slow at the beginning of the week due to the Coaltrans conference in Madrid which took many players out of the active market for a couple of days. However from Wednesday the market started to resurge again. The Atlantic round was talked at about $35,000 level, the Tubarao to Qingdao rate run up to very close to $30.00 for mid-November dates. In the Pacific the West Australia to China was steady with rates ranging up to about $ 12.40/12.50 done by Rio Tinto and the time charter rates saw close or just above $30,000 mark. There was also certain short period activity but we saw a 176,000 new building which fixed 3 years T/C at index linked rate to the Baltic index average of the 4 T/C rates.
Panamax (Atlantic and Pacific)
The Atlantic market kept dropping in the past week, especially for the Fronthaul business. The trip from USG to the Far East slipped down to below $27,000+$700,000bb due to a lack of support and trip from Brazil was a little lower. However, for Trans-Atlantic round, owner found some support by the end of the week and the rate still stood at around $18,000daily level. In the East, rumor has it that the market might trend up due to the shortage of early vessel. The vessel in Japan position can still get a good rate at mid teens but vessel in S. China could only get $13,000 to $14,000 level for a normal Indonesia round. There were still some charterers looking for short period business and rate kept flat with good LME fixed at over $14,000 daily.
Handy (Far East/Pacific)
Although there was additional chartering enquiry with some further interest for short period booking, the market still started low in the beginning. More fixtures were concluded during the following days, when Supramax short period deals were reported finalized in the low $ 14,000 daily with the exception of a $15,000 rate agreed on a 55,000 tonner. Similar size was said to be agreed at $ 15,250 for a North Pacific round voyage, while rates for trips with coal via Indonesia to India showed to still suffer from the competition of the tonnage available at Bengal Bay. Some reports of smaller Handies fixing local trades showed slightly weaker agreed rates. In general, the market was having an unstable trend through the week.
Handy (North Europe/Mediterranean)
Last week's rumor for a Supramax taken on delivery at west coast India to perform a trip from the Black Sea to the Far East was reported as a fixture, although the charterers name was not confirmed. Other reports of tonnage delivering into the Med/Black Sea waters for east bound business showed Supramax levels to be similar/better compared to the previous week. That positively influenced a short period deal starting from the East Med concluded at larger T/C hire, even with Gulf of Aden trading exclusion. The smaller number of reported concluded deals from the Continent still showed that this market area was similarly firm to the Med/black Sea one.
Handy (USA/N.Atlantic/Lakes/S.America)
Supramaxes from the U.S. Gulf were still agreeing trips to the East at very solid levels, that positive influence then became more evident on similar tonnage fixing the Trans-Atlantic run. The optimistic trend from this loading area was also reconfirmed on the smaller tonnage with firmer numbers of reported agreed on the Trans-Atlantic trade, and a 28,000 tonner was rumored to have agreed $16,000 daily for an Inter-Caribbean trade. The enquiry volume also stayed large enough for South America loading requirements. Rates for similar sizes to the same discharging ranges were not as firm as from the U.S. Gulf, but a better level was agreed for a Supramax booking short period with delivery at West Africa and first leg via South America.
Handy (Indian Ocean/South Africa)
Chartering activity for business loading out of these regions was very quiet. No fixtures were reported at all and some Supramaxes were seen to give hard competition to the China open tonnage on the coal via Southeast Asia to India business. The enquiry was smaller as well for business loading South Africa; it appears that the sole trade gong on more regularly was the rice export out of India into Africa on smaller sized tonnage.
Banchero Costa and Co Spa
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