Several large containerships have been fixed at firm rates as the profile of the charter market shifts to bigger vessels.
Recent fixtures include the Zeaborn-managed, 5,992-teu ER Kobe (built 2001), which is understood to have been taken by Israeli liner operator Zim for 12 months at $19,000 per day.
Until this week, such fixtures would not have been reflected in the New ConTex Index, a leading measure of charter rates produced by a panel of 16 containership brokers and published by the Hamburg and Bremen Shipbrokers’ Association (VHBS).
A revamp this month of the 13-year index incorporates bigger ships, such as the ER Kobe, to align the index more closely with the charter market.
The changes are designed to reflect a pick-up in charter activity for vessels in the 5,700-teu and 6,500-teu segments, to take into account the changing profile of the charter market as increasing numbers of larger containerships enter the spot market.
Recent days have seen fixtures of traditional post-panamax vessels controlled by Greek owner Danaos and German tonnage providers, such as the Offen Group.
Danaos secured a three-year time charter on the 6,350-teu Dimitra C (built 2002) with German liner operator Hapag-Lloyd at a rate slightly below $20,000 per day.
That compares with a rate 12.5% higher that Hapag-Lloyd is paying to take the scrubber-fitted, 6,350-teu Hamburg Bay (built 2009), controlled by Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping. Hapag-Lloyd is said to be paying $22,500 per day for trading from South East Asia to Australia.
Major east-west trades
The fixtures reflect the trend of charterers opting for larger boxships that barely a decade ago would have been deemed big enough to operate in the major east-west trades.
But the changes to the New ConTex stop short of including larger vessels up to 9,000 teu, despite a growing number of fixtures in this category.
Two narrow-beam post-panamaxes in the Offen fleet have reportedly been taken at firm rates.
The 9,200-teu Santa Linea (built 2005) is said to have been fixed on extension with Zim for 24 months at $31,750 per day, while the 8,059-teu Conti Crystal (built 2006) is chartered for 24 months with Yang Ming Marine Transport at $25,000 per day.
Zim extension
The 8,814-teu Northern Jasper (built 2009), managed by V.Ships Hamburg, has been taken on extension by Zim for 12 months at $29,000 per day.
Large vessels of this size are incorporated into the charter indices of leading UK shipbrokers.
But they have not been included in the revamped New ConTex because there is not enough market activity to give a reasonable measure of charter rates, according to Alexander Geisler, managing director of the VHBS.
Instead, the association is fine-tuning changes in the smaller ship sector due to a dearth of vessels taken on charter for longer periods of two years.
The New ConTex will in future focus on periods of six months for smaller ships of 1,100 teu and 1,700 teu. It will additionally assess 12-month rates for vessels from 2,500 teu through to 4,250 teu, as well as vessels of 5,700 teu and 6,500 teu.
The New ConTex has been published since October 2007 and is compiled by brokers in Hamburg, Copenhagen, London, Paris and Singapore. The index fell seven points to 408 this week due to the impact of the coronavirus.
