At the 16th SteelOrbis Steel Conference “New Horizons in Steel Markets” held on Wednesday, December 1, in Istanbul with the participation of approximately 900 participants including 300 on-site, Bahadır Tonguç, general manager of Supramar Shipping & Trading Ltd., shared the latest developments in the sea freight market with the conference attendees. Stating that the market is shaped by demand, Mr. Tonguç said that 2021 has been a very good and profitable year for ship owners who had serious difficulties in 2008. Pointing out that the high freight prices are due to developments such as high demand, the effects of the pandemic and the congestion of ships at ports, he said that prices are expected to remain strong after 2021. In addition, he added that freight rates will most likely ease in 2023 amid increased supply as new ships enter the market.
According to the data shared by Mr. Tonguç, the amount of bulk freight transported worldwide in 2021 is expected to increase to 11.21 million mt from 10.7 billion mt in 2020. The number of ships increased to 99,800 units from 98,715 in the same comparison. A significant decrease has been observed in the amount of bulk carried by dry bulk ships since 2008, while the growth rate of the dry bulk vessel fleet, which has been following a downward trend since 2020, is expected to decrease further in 2022 and 2023.
Regarding his expectations for the coming period, Tonguç said that there are many variables in the market and that it is difficult to predict freight levels. He stated that borders started to be closed after the news about the new virus variant and that it is not yet clear how this will affect the trade at ports.