| Date: Jan 05, 2018 |
| While the market started off on a rather quiet note, freight rates for the Asia Pacific and Atlantic Capesize routes continued to surge Thursday as industry sources witnessed a flurry of trades later in the day.
A ship operator source tracking the Capesize market expected the market to continue trending upwards and said “the market’s sentiment is really looking bullish, and there are more cargoes in the market than what a lot of people expected.” A Hong Kong-based shipbroker agreed that the market was bullish as there was keen interest from operators for vessels on a one-year time charter period. A chartering source with a mining company however, was skeptical about the rally and said “it’s looking a little bubbly, the fundamentals are looking weak — there are still a lot of vessels in the market.” On the Western Australia-Qingdao route, Rio Tinto was heard to have fixed a Capesize vessel from Dampier to Qingdao at $6.90/wmt for January 13 onwards loading dates, but further details could not be confirmed. BHP was heard seeking a Capesize vessel from Port Hedland to Qingdao for January 18 onwards loading dates. It was later heard to have fixed a Capesize vessel at $7/wmt, but further details could not be confirmed. Roy Hill was heard to have fixed a Capesize vessel from west coast Australia to Qingdao at $6.90/wmt for January 15 onwards loading dates, but further details could not be confirmed. The freight rate for a Capesize vessel to move iron ore from Port Hedland to Qingdao was assessed at $7/wmt, up 65 cents/wmt from Wednesday. |
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