Shipping Report
TANKERS Vlccs market in the Arabian Gulf remains firm with a number of fixtures. 270,000 tons of cargoes with destination East are fixed at W/S 50 and for West W/S 43. – Aframax in Caribs are firming with latest at W/S 125. – Med. and Cont. stable at W/S 132.5 and W/S 130 respectively. – Steady conditions in W. Africa for Suezmaxes with the 130,000 tons of cargoes at mid-60s with destination US Gulf and Cont. – In the Med., Petrogal for 80,000 tons of cargo loading May 26 Syria discharging Portugal has fixed M/T «Velimir Skorpic» at W/S 112.5. – In the Continent, Exxonmobil for 80,000 tons of cargo loading May 29 Denmark discharging Canada has fixed M/T «Olympic Symphony» at W/S 118.5. – In Caribs, Petrobras for 70,000 tons of cargo loading May 24 discharging US Gulf has fixed M/T «Columbia Spirit» at W/S 120. – In W. Africa, Exxonmobil has fixed M/T «New World» for 130,000 tons of cargo loading June 1 discharging UK at W/S 65. DRY CARGO The Panamax market remains steady on both the Atlantic and Far East. Some interesting fixtures are reported, i.e. Pan Ocean with delivery US Gulf May 25-3O redelivery Far East has fixed M/V «Riruccia» 73,000 dwt, built 1997, at USD 9,500 daily and USD 260,000 ballast bonus while Oetker has fixed M/V «Four Coal» 73,900 dwt, built 2000, delivery China May 20-25 redelivery Continent at USD 5,600 daily. – On smaller tonnage and despite the increase of the sugar cargoes out of Brazil, freight rates remain low. A real effect on rates will only be felt later, yet spot ships have been fixed and demand is keeping steady throughout the summer. – On Panamax in Far East, Sekiyho has fixed M/V «Orange Tiger» 75,752 dwt, built 1998, delivery Japan end May trip via Australia redelivery China at USD 6,500 daily. – In Atlantic, Transfield has fixed M/V «Moleson» 73,018 dwt, built 1998, delivery Argentine May 22-25 redelivery Far East at USD 9,600 daily and USD 260,000 ballast bonus. – On smaller sizes, Contilines has fixed M/V «Aliakmon River,» 38,858 dwt, built 1994, delivery Flushing May 17-20 redelivery Chile at USD 8,700 daily. Apart from seeing the Olympics as events for cities or countries, they are frequently seen in regional terms. Mexico City (1968) was a groundbreaker, as the first in Latin America and in a so-called Third World country. Tokyo in 1964 was the first genuinely Asian Games, Melbourne (1956) the first in the southern hemisphere, and Cape Town’s (admittedly so-so) bid for 2008 drew much interest as the first African attempt. The torch relay for Athens 2004 will touch Africa for the first time.
