Norway’s 2020 Bulker has moved one of its newcastlemax bulk carriers to a fixed-rate charter amid falling earnings levels.
The Oslo-listed owner, backed by Tor Olav Troim, has converted a deal for the 208,000-dwt Bulk Sao Paulo (built 2020) from an index-linked contract previously.
The ship will now earn $16,146 per day from 1 October until 31 March.
In addition, the vessel will still earn a premium related to the fuel cost savings from its scrubber, the company said.
The bulker was fixed to trader Glencore for three years from 2020, but the index-linked rate was not reported.
2020 Bulkers now has three of eight ships on fixed deals.
Fearnley Securities said that between July and August the owner has managed to lock in a 60% premium on its vessels at average rates of $23,700 per day.
The Baltic Exchange’s 5TC bulker index averaged $14,800 in the same period.
In August, the six ships on index-linked time charters at that time earned $16,700 per day, down from $30,600 the month before.
There were average daily scrubber benefits worth $4,000 per day as part of the August figure, compared to $4,100 a month earlier.
Bigger numbers for fixed-rate deals
The two bulkers trading on fixed-rate time charters earned $37,000 per day, versus $38,100 in July, including average daily scrubber benefits of $5,300 per day, down from $6,400.
Capesize rates dropped 5% on Thursday to $16,000 per day, while smaller vessel segments had flatter development.
Panamax earnings rates dipped 1% to $18,000, with supramax numbers climbing 2% to the same level.
Brokers suggested a "slightly positive bias" for capesizes on Friday morning.
In the paper market, forward freight agreements (FFAs) are indicating fourth-quarter earnings for the vessel class of $17,700 per day on average. For 2023, the figure drops to $13,600.
