London: Brokers in Singapore estimate that “six or seven” capesize bulk carriers have gone into hot lay-up, according to reports.
Brokers told Reuters they do not expect a recovery in the cape market for at least the next six to nine months.
The cape spot market remains weak and the period market has all but disappeared, Oslo-based shipbroker Fearnleys said in a report on Wednesday.
That being said, the Baltic Capesize Index bounced back somewhat on Thursday, climbing 50 points on Wednesday to reach 407 points. This is the index’s highest level since March 11, having fallen every day since February 10.
“So where can we look for positive signs?” Fearnleys asked in its weekly report on Wednesday. “Well, in the 100-200,000-dwt segment the deletions (scrapping) outweigh the deliveries by about 2m dwt. In the larger segment of 200,000-plus dwt, the deliveries still outweigh the deletions. In finite numbers, 30 capers have been scrapped to date, compared with a total in 2014 of 29 units.”
The Baltic Dry Index today closed at 584 points, its highest level since February 2 and up 13 points on yesterday.
