Two panamax bulkers have fetched one-year time charters at daily rates that reflect sliding period rates in the sector.

Torvald Klaveness on Monday chartered Fortune Ocean Shipping’s 81,800-dwt Xing Shun Hai (built 2018) at $16,500 per day, according to data from the Baltic Exchange.

The Norwegian operator will take delivery of the kamsarmax on Wednesday in Chiwan, China, and can redeliver it anywhere in the world.

The average rate for a one-year charter of a 82,000-dwt panamax is $15,500 per day, a drop from about $16,500 per day on 29 December, according to Clarksons.

On Friday, Singapore’s Athena Shipping chartered Maritime Enterprises Management’s 76,600-dwt Orion III (built 2005) at $11,000 per day, the Baltic Exchange said.

The fixture will begin between Tuesday and 15 January in Yeosu, China, and is set for worldwide redelivery at the end of the charter.

The average one-year time charter rate for 75,000-dwt panamaxes that are 10 years old or younger was about $13,800 per day on 6 January, according to Clarksons Research. That rate is down steadily from about $14,700 per day on 9 December.

By comparison, the Panamax 5TC set of spot-rate averages across five key routes came in at $11,300 per day on Monday, down steadily from $11,900 per day on 3 January.

The deals came as, in the capesize sector, Diana Shipping found a one-year fixture for a bulker with Solebay Shipping as the vessel ends a 13-month time charter with Cargill.

The New York-listed bulker owner has chartered the 178,000-dwt GP Zafirakis (built 2014) at $17,000 per day for a period that will start Tuesday and end anywhere from 15 June to 15 August 2024.

And while the bulker will see its earnings drop, the deal comes at a time when period rates are on the rise.