According to the Baltic Exchange, Pan Ocean hired the 179,200-dwt Dong-A Ether (built 2011) for 13 months at a rate of $11,750 daily.
Observers note the terms are similar those of a fixture involving the 179,200-dwt Dong A Leto (built 2010), which was chartered to Louis Dreyfus earlier this month.
In an email exchange with TradeWinds they also noted the deals serve as further evidence that capes are still commanding a premium in the period market.
Today, tonnage trading in the spot market was fetching $4,700 per day on average, which represents a daily decline of roughly 2.0%.
According to Charles Rupinski, an equity analyst at Global Hunter Securities, capesize bulkers are seeing day rates of around $9,850 on average when hired for a year and $11,750 when fixed for three.
