Asia Dry Bulk | Capesize Rates Hold Down as Tonnage Glut Continues - Maritime and Salvage Wolrd News

By Keith Wallis

SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) – Rates for capesize bulk carriers, which have been near six-year lows for the final two months, will stay beneath strain as a tonnage glut continues to weigh available on the market, brokers stated.

With solely marginal will increase in freight charges on important capesize routes from Australia and Brazil within the second quarter, the present market circumstances may stay till June, stated one Singapore-based capesize dealer on Thursday.

Rates from Australia to China have stayed round $4.40 per tonne for the previous few weeks, the dealer stated.

The capesize market is “similar to watching the grass grow – only without all the excitement,” stated Norwegian ship dealer Fearnley in a weekly analysis word on Wednesday.

Limited chartering exercise up to now week has been made worse by the massive variety of ships out there for constitution. “There were 12 ships fixtures in the past week and the market went down,” the Singapore dealer stated.

“There is simply a limit to how much iron ore and coal the world’s base industries need transported by sea,” the Fearnley word stated.

Charter charges for the Western Australia-China route slipped to $4.46 per tonne on Wednesday, in opposition to $4.51 per tonne per week earlier.

Rates are nonetheless near $4.12 per tonne reached on Jan. 12, the bottom since December 2008.

Rates for the Brazil-China route nudged larger to $10.52 on Wednesday, in contrast with $10.37 per tonne final week. Rates hit $9.65 per tonne on Jan. 9, the bottom since January 2009.

Freight charges within the smaller panamax market are more likely to flatten subsequent week as tonnage provide outpaces cargo demand, brokers stated.

“We need to see a lot more cargo,” a Singapore-based panamax dealer stated on Thursday.

Rates on routes to India, Indonesia and southern China are all coming beneath strain. “The north Pacific is better of all the regions,” he stated.

Rates for a panamax transpacific voyage rose to $5,370 per day on Wednesday, up from $5,003 per day final Wednesday and the best since Jan. 2.

Freight charges for smaller supramax bulk carriers climbed this week to round $8,000 per day for a spherical journey to the west coast of India, in opposition to $7,000 final week, Fearnley stated.

The Baltic Exchange’s important sea freight index closed up at 565 on Wednesday, up from 559 per week in the past.

Technical evaluation confirmed the benchmark is predicted to rise in direction of a resistance at 677 in per week. (Reporting by Keith Wallis; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)