Shipping Report
TANKERS After the rally of the last days, Aframax rates in the Med. are moving lower. Rates are expected to drop to less than W/S 180, since Shell for her cargo from Tunisia to France has received at least eight offers at around W/S 180. – Cont. stable with increased activity. Dreyfus has fixed Navion tonnage for 80,000 tons of cargo, loading May 10 East Coast UK, discharging UKC, at W/S 137, while Exxonmobil for same cargo, loading May 16 UK with same destination, has fixed M/T «Petrovsk» at W/S 135. – On 100,000-ton cargoes out of Baltic, Ursa has fixed Transpetrol tonnage, loading May 20 Primorsk, discharging UKC, at W/S 137.5. – Caribs stable, with Marathon having fixed M/T «Nord Pacific» for 70,000 tons of cargo, loading May 20, discharging US Gulf, at W/S 180. – Suezmax rates declining further with W. Africa paying W/S 90 for US Gulf destinations. – Med. rates out of Novo are hovering around W/S 105, while cross Med. are about W/S 95. – Sibneft for 143,000 tons of cargo, loading May 23, discharging UKC/Med., has fixed M/T «Yannis P» at W/S 105. – On VLCCs out of Arabian Gulf, CPC for 235,000 tons of cargo, loading May 26, discharging Taiwan, has fixed M/T «Vl Flawless» at W/S 72.5. DRY CARGO Capesize rates continued to decline in the East, with Chinese charterers still largely absent from the market. – Atlantic rates are holding fairly steady for transatlantic round-trip voyages. Cargill has fixed M/V «First Jupiter,» 171,039 dwt, built 1997, delivery May 15-20 UK, trip via Colombia, redelivery UKC, at USD 53,000 daily. – Same charterers with destination Far East have fixed M/V «Cape Pampas,» 151,380 dwt, built 1990, for a trip from Brazil to China at USD 68,000 daily. – The Panamax market in the East took an interesting turn, with European charterers picking off tonnage on period charters. – Round-trip voyages in the area are being negotiated above USD 25,000 daily. – On T/C periods, Baumarine has fixed M/V «Clipper Surrey,» 73,791 dwt, built 1998, delivery Taiwan mid-May, for 5-7 months’ trading at USD 33,000 daily, while Oetker has fixed M/V «Alessandra d’Amato,» 74,500 dwt, built 1990, delivery China mid-May, for a 4-6 month period at USD 33,000 daily. – On Handy/Handymaxes, the US Gulf market is under downward pressure for all sizes, particularly for spot tonnage. – In the East, IVS has fixed M/V «Giannis,» 40,009 dwt, built 1988, delivery May 7-15 Muscat, trip via S. Africa, redelivery UKC, at USD 19,000 daily. – On coal cargoes, Cargill has fixed M/V «Sanko Oasis» for 150,000 tons of cargo, loading S. Africa end May – beg. June, discharging Rotterdam, at USD 14.25 per ton with two-day load and 25,000 tons discharge.
