LNG Steady While LPG Surges on Panama Canal Delays

By
Mfame Editor
-
13

  • LNG timecharter rates soften slightly across all terms.
  • LPG market surges on Neo Panama Canal congestion fears.
  • Ras Tanura–Chiba LPG rates climb on firm Middle East demand.

It’s been a pretty quiet week in the LNG market, with not much action and rates mostly holding steady. While a few routes experienced slight increases, the overall mood remained stable, with few new factors influencing the spot market, reports Baltic Exchange.

Pacific Routes – Australia to Japan

On the BLNG1 Australia–Japan route:

  1. 174k cbm vessels: down $400 to $33,000/day
  2. 160k cbm vessels: unchanged at $22,200/day

The lack of activity in the Pacific and the abundance of available tonnage kept rates under pressure.

Atlantic Routes – US Gulf to Continent & Japan

BLNG2 US Gulf–Continent:

  1. 174k cbm: up $600 to $35,300/day
  2. 160k cbm: up $200 to $22,000/day

BLNG3 US Gulf–Japan:

  1. 174k cbm: up $200 to $42,600/day
  2. 160k cbm: down $200 to $25,900/day

Larger vessels saw some modest gains, while smaller ones faced a dip due to uneven long-haul demand.

Timecharter Market

  1. Six-month TC: down $1,000 to $46,250/day
  2. One-year TC: down $275 to $45,975/day
  3. Three-year TC: down $50 to $56,950/day

LPG Market Overview

The LPG market experienced a notable surge this week, largely due to increasing congestion in the Neo Panama Canal. If delays continue, we might see more vessels ballasting to the US taking the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, which would boost tonne-miles and tighten the supply of tonnage.

Middle East – Ras Tanura to Chiba

On the BLPG1 Ras Tanura–Chiba route:

  1. Rates: increased by $3.75 to $88.58/mt
  2. TCE earnings: rose by $4,707 to $76,115/day

Steady demand from the Middle East and a positive market sentiment contributed to these gains.

Atlantic – Houston to Flushing

On the BLPG2 Houston–Flushing route:

  1. Rates: up by $5.75 to $83.13/mt
  2. TCE earnings: climbed by $9,753 to $94,445/day

A tightening supply in the Atlantic, partly due to delays in the Panama Canal, provided a solid upward momentum.

Long-Haul – Houston to Chiba

On the BLPG3 Houston–Chiba route:

  1. Rates: increased by $10.00 to $149.83/mt
  2. TCE earnings: went up by $8,512 to $74,814/day

This route saw the most significant weekly change, again fueled by stronger sentiment in the Atlantic.

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Source: Baltic Exchange