AsiaDry CargoGreater China

Chinese kamsarmax operator books Sinochem ship

China’s BDH Quadro Marine, a newly founded operator of kamsarmaxes for agri imports, has fixed Sinochem’s kamsarmax Ocean Garlic (82,036 dwt, built 2012) on a 10- to 13-month period charter for $4,850 daily, brokers say. 

Hong-Kong-based BDH Quadro Marine is a joint venture with Chinese importer Jiusan Oils & Grains Industries and was reportedly founded in October 2015 by Beibu Gulf Ocean’s ex-chief executive Chu Kong.

The JV company operates two other chartered-in kamsarmax vessels, believed to be BBG Glory and BBG Hope (both 81,200 dwt, built 2013), brokers tell Splash.

Representatives from Jiusan Oils & Grains, also known as Heilongjiang Jiusan Oil & Fat Co, were among a delegation of over 20 Chinese companies that visited the US in September last year to sign deals to buy “several million” tonnes of American soybeans, according to Reuters reports.

China is likely to purchase a total of 27m  tonnes of soybeans from the US between October 2015 and September 2016, down from 29.6m tonnes in the previous marketing year, according to a report published in September by the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).

CNGOIC says China is forecast to import 78m tonnes of soy beans during the 12-month period, just 1m tonnes higher than the previous year due to China’s economic slowdown and muted demand growth.

Ocean Garlic will deliver in Singapore on February 15. It was fixed at a rate roughly in line with shipbroker Alibra Shipping’s timecharter estimates for panamaxes and kamsarmaxes. The London-based shop today estimates one-year rates of $5,100 daily  in the Pacific basin or $5,600 daily in the Atlantic.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.
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