Firming rates for supramax bulk carriers have helped the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) overcome declines in other market segments and advance by one point to 316 points today.
Supramax spot rates have been trending upwards since February 12 but brokers are too cautious to call it a “rally” – one report suggests a “dead cat bounce”. Nevertheless, rates are going in the right direction due to increased chartering activity, although details remain sketchy on fixtures in the Pacific.
Among the best performing benchmark routes is the S2 run, delivering in South Korea or Japan for round-trips via Australia or across the Pacific. Spot rates on the route have advanced by $1,175 since February 12 and today reached $3,083 per day.
Likewise, the Baltic Supramax Index’s weighted timecharter average rate for six major benchmark routes has grown by $567 since the uptick began on February 12. It was assessed at $3,111 per day today.
Meanwhile, Thenamaris’ newly acquired capesize Seamate (was Faustina; 177,775 dwt, built 2010) has secured a new period charter, brokers say. The cape has reportedly been fixed to SwissMarine for 11 to 13 months at a daily rate of $5,600, delivering in Kaohsiung on March 4.
Thenamaris acquired the vessel in early January from Sincere Navigation at a reported price of $19.2m. The Taiwan-based owner had attempted to sell the cape to Frontline in mid-December for $20.4m but the deal failed.
Rates in the timecharter market remain more or less static. Today, London-based shipbroker Alibra Shipping estimates one-year timecharter rates of $5,500 per day for capesizes in both basins. For supramaxes, the broker estimates daily rates of $4,900 in the Pacific and $5,600 in the Atlantic.
