Feeder Vessels Defy Pressure

摘要

Period rates for vessels above 1,000teu continued to slide last week, but the feeder ship sectors still proved fairly stable in the current lull. A few encouraging fixtures in the 750 to 1,000teu sectors prompted Hamburg broker Harper Petersen to lift its sub index for that sector by about 2% last week.rnUS operator Crowley was reported fixing the 2007-built Tucana J of 962teu and gearless, at S12.900 a day for an 18-month period withrndelivery in the Gulf of Mexico, while CMA CGM signed up the geared 966teu Hoheweg at a respectable $11,350 daily rate for 12 months in the Mediterranean.rnAs the spread with the larger vessels diminishes, "many are now seeing a two-tier market beginning to form,"commented Braemar Seascope in its latest market review."Whereas the mid sizes appear to be bearing the brunt of the struggling market, it remains to be seenrnwhether this will have such a notable effect on the smaller feeder sizes," the broker said.