Trade slackens in Baltic Sea coaster market, but rates hold steady so far

摘要

The Baltic Sea coaster market remains weak, with minimal spot activity. At the same time, along with few cargo offers, players note still limited vessel list in the region. High bunker prices also play into owners’ hands, allowing them to keep rates at quite high levels. In general, ISM sources refer the activity decline both to the traditional summer slowdown and difficult geopolitical situation in the region, namely the introduction of sanctions against Russia, which simply stopped many of the usual cargo flows: