Black Sea 2-5k dwt market suffers rapid decline

摘要

The cargo traffic has expectedly slowed down on the Black Sea small-tonnage market with the start of New Year and Christmas holidays in Ukraine and Russia. Spot tonnage list is rather modest, but clearly looks longer than in Dec. In these circumstances, most charterers are confidently lowering rates, especially when it comes to shipments by 3-4k dwt fleet, as relevant freights suffer additional pressure from the collapse of the Azov sea-river market. Fresh grain offers are few on the market; the same applies to minerals and fertilizers. Only Ukrainian steel products are quite actively offered for transportation, which supports demand for 5-15k dwt tonnage. In the grain segment: Charterers offer $33/t for transportation of 3-3,500 t of bran (sf 54-55`) from Kherson to the Marmara Sea, while there are owners ready to work at low-mid $30s/t. Some other traders are not even ready to pay more than $30/t for a similar shipment;