Ultramax bulkers owned by Belships and Diana Shipping have reportedly been fixed on period charters at higher rates than last done, at a time when spot rates are coming under pressure.
The Belships deal is the first 12-month fixture reported in several months.
Its 63,626-dwt Beltokyo (built 2021) was said to be fixed to grain house Viterra for 12 months at $16,000 per day, starting on Friday in Qingdao, China.
The reported rate shows an advance on the last reported 12-month deal in July, when Jiangsu Ocean’s 55,621-dwt supramax Josco Yangzhou (built 2005) was fixed at $14,000 per day to Zhejiang Shipping.
Nearly half of the Belships fleet has employment lined up for the next four quarters.
A couple of shorter-duration deals were also reported this week, continuing the fairly steady flow of period fixtures reported throughout September, mostly for periods of roughly six months.
Diana Shipping’s 60,309-dwt DSI Andromeda (built 2016) was reportedly fixed to Peter Livanos’ bulker arm DryLog for four to six months at $17,000 per day. The contract will begin promptly in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
This is $2,000 more per day than an unidentified 63,000-dwt ultramax open in Yeosu, South Korea reportedly achieved on Friday, when it was fixed for four to seven months.
An unnamed 56,000-dwt supramax open in Dalian, China, was also reported fixed on Friday for three to five months at a daily rate of $17,000.
These bulkers will be earning more than the Baltic Exchange’s forward curve currently shows for the months ahead.
The curve indicates spot rates of just over $14,500 per day each month for the balance of this year.
Freight forward agreements for the calendar year 2025 settled on Thursday at $13,041 per day. Bidding on Friday did not move prices far beyond this level.
Spot pressure
Spot rates, meanwhile, are under pressure in the Atlantic and Pacific, and the absence of excitement is weighing on general sentiment.
This has yet to translate to a dramatic rout in rates, but that could change as tonnage lists grow in the South Atlantic and US Gulf.
The average spot rate, weighted across 10 benchmark routes, was assessed $31 lower on Friday at $15,897 per day.
The basket assessment has fallen by 3% since Monday.
Spot fixtures in the Atlantic this week have been fixed in line with last-done deals, whereas rates for reported deals in the Pacific have moved lower.
Clarksons estimates one-year period rates at $15,000 per day, based on a 58,000-dwt supramax delivering in the Pacific.
This is down from the estimate’s 12-month high of $16,750 per day at the end of April.
The broking group calculates that a 2015-built ultramax built to a fuel-efficient design could earn $14,601 per day in the current market, which is more than $5,000 per day lower than a month ago.
The Baltic Exchange said in its weekly report on Friday: “Across Continent and Mediterranean, with the overall sentiment being positional, the fixtures surfacing are indicating that rates were hovering around the last done.”
The report referenced a 58,000-dwt supramax fixed at $15,000 per day, delivering while passing Gibraltar for a trip via the European Continent and redelivering in West Africa.
The description matches a fixture reported on Thursday, when operator Norwegian Bulk Carriers booked Spar Shipping’s 58,018-dwt Spar Rigel (built 2010).
