Capesize
On the C5 front, albeit a slight drop in overall volumes compared to last week, enquiries are still present from miners, several operators, and tenders for mid to late April dates. Limited enquiries for forward May dates. Volumes out of East Australia and other Pacific business have diminished since start of the week. Volumes out of South Africa have remained flat from last week. On C3 ex Brazil to China and West Africa, volume of enquiries has maintained from last week with majority for May dates and several for late April. Far East tonnage is increasingly abundant. Ballasting tonnage weighs heavily on the second half of April and first half of May with some drifting off South Africa able to make first half of April dates. On C5, the week started with fixtures concluding at mid USD 9 pmt levels and we noticed a tick increase to high USD 9 pmt levels by mid-week. On C3, we see offers in the range of USD 25 to USD 26 pmt levels with bid ideas in the USD 23 to USD 24 pmt levels for first half of May dates. One known fixture of a 180k dwt, 2011-built, non-scrubbered for 10 to 12 months at USD 30,150 per day.
Panamax
The seasonal trend indicates that the index’s peak of USD 21,000 per day is unlikely to be surpassed until June, due to notable slowdowns in major trades and limited optimism for an uptick in Pacific coal trades or a surge in ECSAM grain season. The period following the holiday weekend started quietly, with stagnant Atlantic conditions and surplus tonnage driving rates down. Market activity has been muted, with low cargo volumes contributing to increased tonnage availability and a pessimistic market outlook.
Supramax
Due to the Easter holiday across Europe, we see significantly reduced trading activity. It’s a little to report. In the Atlantic, most regions remained quiet with little volume; rates continued to fall. The reduced demand from the US Gulf and ECSA as the main loading area caused significant rate drops. Trips from Brazil to Asia are being reported to be fixed at around USD 17,000 pd plus USD 675,000 gross BB, which is substantially lower than the fixtures done before Easter.
Transatlantic is now trading at around USD 18,000 pd. A similar situation in the Pacific, as the lack of recovery in coal shipments is limiting further gains. Pacific China round trips fixing sub USD 15,000 pd. Period activity is almost non-existent due to the recent FFA drop, and charterers is looking for the future direction.
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Source : Fearnpulse
