Short-term charter rates for classic panamax boxships have crossed the $100,000-per-day threshold.

That marks a stunning rebound for a sector of the containership market that many saw as doomed with the opening of the Panama Canal’s wider locks in 2016.

The record charter rate is rumoured to have been paid to Andreas Hadjiyiannis-led Cyprus Sea Lines as manager of the 5,060-teu S Santiago (built 2006).

The vessel has been taken for a short fixture of about 80 days by an unnamed freight forwarder desperate to cover client needs, brokers said.

They added that the willingness of owners to accept short periods reflects a growing confidence that the charter market will remain strong.

That is underpinned by record high freight rates and a shortage of capacity.

The stunning rise in charter rates has led some owners “to take the ‘quick buck’ on a one or two round voyage basis at levels which could not be sniffed at by even the most bullish of their peers”, according to shipbroker Clarksons.

Astronomical rate

The type of astronomical rate paid for the S Santiago is deemed necessary to lure boxship owners away from attractive long-term fixtures.

Owners of traditional panamaxes of between 3,500 teu and 5,100 teu appear capable for the first time in more than a decade of securing five-year fixtures at rates in excess of $30,000 per day.

Dioryx Maritime — one of the oldest Greek containership players — is said to have fixed the 4,300-teu Strymonikos (built 2009) at $32,000 per day for five years with French liner operator CMA CGM.

More modern, wide-beam designs get an even higher premium.

Germany’s FA Vinnen is understood to have obtained $35,000 per day for the 3,868-teu Merkur Fjord (built 2013) for a five-year fixture with CMA CGM.

The tightening market means fewer ships are available for prompt charter, with the focus shifting to what vessels may come open in 2022, brokers said.

The pressure on the charter market is unlikely to relent as liner companies need the ships to take advantage of record high freight rates.

Non-stop demand, as well as the lingering impacts of the Suez Canal blockage, drove a 19% increase in the Freightos Baltic Global Container Index (FBX) in May to a new high of $5,230 per 40-foot equivalent unit (feu).

Rates from Asia to northern Europe surged $602 to $10,627 per feu on 2 June, having traded mostly below $2,000 per feu since 2016.

The upward pressure on rates is expected to continue.

Port congestion in Hamburg; the fire on the 2,743-teu X-Press Pearl (built 2021) close to Sri Lanka; and the partial port closure in Yantian, China, make the problem worse, according to Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen.

“With continued problems on the horizon, such as a coming lockdown in Malaysia and the traditional peak season for demand coming up, it appears we may not yet have seen the peak of [freight] rates,” Jensen wrote in an FBX newsletter.