On January 9, the Atlantic Supramax dry freight market tumbled with time-charter deals from the US Gulf Coast being finalized at $3,000-4,000/d lower than the last done levels.
Overtonnage blamed for the fiasco
Market participants blamed the fall on a severe overtonnage of Supramax and Ultramax vessels in the US Gulf, as operators Oldendorff and Eagle Bulk were both heard having a number of ships available for prompt dates.
Oldendorff was heard to have fixed the ER Bordeaux, 55,621 dwt, 2011 built, with a coal cargo from Mobile, Alabama, to the Continent on a voyage basis at $13.65/mt, after fierce bidding between ship operators and owners. Sources calculated time charter equivalents for the trip between $13,000/day and $14,700/day, well below the trans-Atlantic estimates earlier in the week of $17,000-19,000/day.
Charter estimates
Trans-Atlantic petcoke cargoes saw time charter estimates at $15,000-$16,000/day, with one Ultramax vessel rumored to be fixed from the US Gulf to Turkey at $17,000/day, down from fixtures in the mid-low $20,000s/day in late December. On Wednesday, the New Orleans to Iskenderun, 50,000 mt petcoke route was assessed down $1 to $21/mt.
With time-charter rates on fronthaul grains cargoes estimated at $20,000-$21,000/day Wednesday, the New Orleans to Kashima, 50,000 mt grains route was assessed down $3.50 to $41.25/mt — its lowest rate since October 2016.
A ship operator said, “The market is in freefall, it has dropped significantly since yesterday and is still dropping“.
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Source: spglobal
