Baltic and North Sea Basin

摘要

In mid-April, the Baltic and North Sea freight market is stable. In the Gulf ofFinland, the ice conditions are still bad (in the eastern part of the gulf, the ice is 40-60 cm thick). Icebreaker assistance has improved there, however. Even though icerestrictions have been softened (now, vessels without an ice class and those withthe power unit of 2,000 hp and under cannot enter ports), owners reluctantly sendtheir vessels to St.Petersburg port and are forcing freight rates up. Meanwhile,many charterers pay for extended cargo storage at ports preferring to wait for betterice conditions and find a ship at reasonable rates.