Shipping Report
TANKERS Aframax market in the Med. falling quickly, with rates for D/D tonnage around W/S 130 and not tested. – Cont. with a small number of cargoes for late-February loadings. The 100,000-ton cargoes out of the Baltic are being fixed at W/S 190. J&S has fixed M/T «Bravery» for 100,000 tons of cargo, loading February 29 Baltic Sea, discharging UKC, at the abovementioned levels. – Little activity in Suezmaxes. There is a negative trend in the Med., with rates difficult to quantify, while in West Africa, the latest fixtures are at around W/S 175 and falling. – In the Med., CSSA for 80,000 tons of cargo, loading February 22 Libya, discharging Med., has fixed M/T «Ocean Lady» at W/S 150. – On Suezmaxes, China Oil for 135,000 tons of cargo, loading March 12, discharging UKC/Med., has fixed M/T «Sea Princess» at W/S 180. – In the Cont., CSSA for 80,000 tons of cargo, loading February 24 East Coast UK – West Coast Norway, discharging UKC, has fixed M/T «Jag Laxmi» at W/S 182.5. – In Caribs, Exxonmobil for 70,000 tons of cargo, loading February 17, East Coast Mexico, discharging US Gulf, has fixed Skaugen tonnage at W/S 300. – In Arabian Gulf, BP for 280,000 tons of cargo, loading March 16, discharging USAC, has fixed M/T «Australis» at W/S 120. DRY CARGO Sharp decline in the Capesize market, with the index totaling 6,906 last Monday. The reasons are multiple: On the one hand is the increasing amount of tonnage open in the Far East, as well as limited demand for iron ore to China and coal to the Atlantic. – Pan Ocean has fixed M/V «Star Europe,» 170,698 dwt, built 1986, delivery China end February, trip via Australia, redelivery Far East, at USD 61,000 daily. – Stable conditions for Panamaxes, with good demand for T/C period dates. M/V «Fu Zhou Hai,» 69,600 dwt, built 1993, delivery Japan February 20-25 for 3-5 months’ trading, was fixed at USD 45,000 daily. – On Panamaxes in Far East, Cargill has fixed M/V «Ascanius,» 76,000 dwt, built 2004, delivery February 20-25 Japan, trip via Australia, redelivery Far East, at USD 39,500 daily. – In Atlantic, Worthington has fixed M/V «Energy Star,» 75,600 dwt, built 2003, delivery February 20-25 Morocco, trip via Brazil, redelivery Far East, at USD 49,250 daily. – On smaller sizes, Sigma has fixed M/V «Ocean Host,» 46,752 dwt, built 1982, delivery USAC end February, trip via Canada, redelivery Turkey, at USD 45,000 daily. – On coal cargoes, Swiss Marine has fixed M/V «Gargantua» for 180,000 tons of cargo, loading Richards Bay March 8-22, discharging Rotterdam, at USD 22.00 per ton with two-day load and 25,000 tons discharge.