The Baltic Briefing has issued the tanker report for the 32nd week of this year. The report dated 11th August 2023 provides valuable insight into this week’s gas market dealings, LNG, and LPG.
LNG
Sights have been firmly set on the upcoming switch from ‘Summer’ to ‘Winter’ market with owners and brokers feeling that rates are on the rise. As laycans for cargoes begin to be shown for Q4 2023 vessels have been weighing up the potential spikes versus current spot rates and as a result are asking for higher numbers to compensate potential losses. It would take several fixtures to give clear indication of where the rates could be heading but with only a handful of enquires out there, and those shown being fixed on various ship sizes, it is hard to ascertain clarity. One 145,000 Steam Turbine ship was reported fixed for up to 50 days in the high $60,000’s in the East for intra-basin but with little else seen on the larger ships definitive estimations vary for what a Baltic standard LNG vsl should pay.
The index itself moved positively this week with BLNG1g Aus-Japan gaining over $10,000 to close at $85,484. While in the Atlantic BLNG2g US-Cont made greater gains to close at $91,676 but the biggest mover of the week was certainly BLNG3g where US-Japan increased by nearly $35,000 to finish at $129,656. A big part of this gain is explained by the optionality left for owners after completing a voyage East, by the time they reposition they may have only enough time to fix one to two cargoes in a market, which has the potential to be five to six times higher than current spot levels so greater premiums are being expected (but of course though there is no guarantee than market levels will reproduce the highs of 2022).
LPG
A particularly quiet week has had the expected result on the index, with few reported fixtures and two holidays in the east (Singapore and Japan) there wasn’t much driving force in the market. Rates were kept flat/soft as a relatively healthy tonnage list offset the fixing that was done. BLPG1 Ras Tanura-Chiba fell by $3.357 over the week closing out below $100 at $99.857, which gives a daily TCE earning on a round voyage at $83,042. Despite the fall the rates are still quite high given that for the first five months of the year the index was only briefly up towards triple digits. New acceptances coming out could breathe some life into the rates though; but as we stand the market is flat.
Again, the Panama Canal and weather systems in the East are driving factors in current fixing patterns in the US. Laycans are moving further out while charterers look to take cover on cargoes with ships with firm itineraries. The week saw several vessels being fixed away, but the rates paid no mind and remained steadfastly flat. BLPG2 Houston-Flushing shifted only 40 cents on the week to close where it started at $96.6 with a daily TCE earning of $107,207. This flatlined rate was mirrored for BLPG3 Houston-Chiba where after a brief rise the index fell overall by 50 cents to close at $167.929 (with a daily TCE earning of $87,540).
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Source: Balticexchange
