Shipping News

DRY TRADE CAPESIZE: The market keeps hitting new lows. The Capesize index is not at its lowest since Q1 2009 and the freight market is showing little or no sign of downward resistance. The TC equivalent for cargos from the pacific to the Atlantic is now negative, and the Pacific RC is essentially at vessel operating costs, or about usd 6k/day, with the Atlantic rates following the same trend. Nonetheless a few short period deals have bee struck at around usd 16.17k/day level indicating a certain expectation of a recovery within a 4.6 month period. Looking at a market where 20% of the fleet is tied up in congestion and Brazil exporting record levels of ore, we would have hoped for a better market, but it seems that the stream of bad news, such as the Australian floods, have effectively killed all confidence in the short term market, and we expect to see vessels laying up in the near future. vogue and recently concluded on 3 known units.