Shipping markets

摘要

Outlook: Charter market rates for tramp container ships eased last week, with the ConTex shedding 2 points, or 0.5%. The largest losses were seen in the 4,250teu Panamax segment, where period rate levels based on 24-month durations dropped by 2.2%, and in the geared 2,500teu segment, which suffered a 1.6% decline on average rates, again for 24-month periods. Enquiry and fixing activity are still considered to be relatively high for this time of the year, especially for gearless 2,700/2,800teu and 3,500teu ships, brokers said. The gearless 2,700teu market was steady to slightly firmer against the general trend and rates for short to medium periods could even rise from the upper $7,000s to $8,000/day soon, according to brokers.