A lengthening tonnage list and the coming Easter weekend are kneecapping cross-Mediterranean product tanker rates.
Howe Robinson said on Wednesday that rates for MRs on the route cratered by $33,400 from a day earlier, falling from $92,000 per day to $58,600 per day and losing 100 Worldscale points to reach WS 300.
“A huge drop off today with enquiry levels just not sufficient enough to tame the building tonnage list,” the broker said on Wednesday.
“With the prompt vessel count climbing, charterers are dangling the carrot and owners are jumping due to the long weekend quickly incoming. As a result we won’t be finished with this softening sentiment this week.”
Rates spent much of the end of March above $110,000 per day, but the broker said this week that the tonnage list began building and with strikes in France and port closures in Libya charterers began testing rates down.
Overall, the Baltic Clean Tanker Index slipped 118 points from Tuesday, falling to 1,060 from 1,178 and 1,245 from last week.
The Baltic Exchange’s Atlantic MR time charter equivalent assessment dropped about $3,900 to $40,900 per day, continuing the jagged performance seen in March, where rates hit a high of more than $45,100 per day on 21 March and a low of under $27,300 per day on 6 March.
Howe Robinson said there were few cargoes to go around in the Atlantic basin, with earnings for ships loading in West Africa down considerably from last week.
The Pacific MR TCE assessment jumped $1,170 to $39,100 per day.
Rates there were up slightly from last week, where rates were at $38,100 per day.
Over the past month, rates have been on a steady incline, from $26,500 per day on 6 March.
