In International Shipping News 23/04/2015
Freight rates on the clean Handysize Black Sea-Mediterranean voyages, basis 30,000 mt dropped Worldscale 110 between Tuesday April 14 and Tuesday April 21, the quickest week-on-week decline since Platts started assessing the route.
The rates plummeted from a 6.5 year high of w320 on April 14 to w210 by April 21.
Shipping sources said a sudden shift in fundamentals was behind the fall.
Some charterers managed to avoid the inflated rates last week by moving dates on their cargoes when the tonnage was particularly tight, sources said.
As the supply of vessels increased for normal dates and inquiry was only fed to the market in smaller drops, owners had to quickly revise their ideas, initiating a rapid decline.
The situation was matched closely in the Handysize clean cross-Med route, where the week-on-week drop in freight rates marked an almost seven year record.
“The market is moving just as fast downwards as it went up last week,” a shipbroker said.
The cross-Med assessment for 30,000 mt stems decreased from w275 on April 14 to w197.5 on April 21, a drop of w77.5.
The last time when cross-Med rates fell so fast was between July 2 and July 9, 2008, where they dropped by w80.
Sentiment remained soft on Tuesday with market fundamentals tilted in charterers favor, despite improvements in activity levels, shipping sources said.
“Charterers feel no pressure to move their cargoes in the presence of a fat tonnage list,” a shipbroker said. “Vessels keep failing their subjects with replacements seen at lower rates, activity is nowhere close to sustain high rates.”
