US-listed shipping stocks began 2022 the same way they performed for full-year 2021 — on the up.

The 30 names under coverage of investment bank Jefferies recorded an average 2.5% gain in the first week of the new year, while the broader S&P 500 fell 1.9% and the small-cap Russell 2000 index slid 2.9%.

The Jefferies Shipping Index is up 57.8% year on year.

Tankers and LNG carriers led the way with a 5% advance despite spot charter rates dropping in both sectors during the week.

John Coustas-led Danaos and other container ship stocks stumbled in the first week of the new year despite continued progress on rates. Photo: Marine Money

Contrastingly, container ship equities shed 2% even as freight and charter rates continued to move higher.

The week's bottom two performers were Danaos with a 6.1% fall and Zim with a 3.9% drop. The same two companies were star performers of 2021 with gains of 253% and 324%, respectively, helping pace all shipping stocks to a gain of 72% on the year.

Jefferies lead shipping analyst Randy Giveans indicated there was little basis for the decline.

"Last week, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index exceeded $5,100 per teu, up 78% from this time last year. Port congestion and inefficiencies remain an ongoing issue resulting in everything from vessels slow steaming, vessels being diverted to different ports, containers being uncirculated and longer unloading times by onshore workers," Giveans said.

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"Covid is still boosting consumer spending on goods, and we believe rates will hit new record highs in the coming weeks."

While some observers suspect the best for the container ship market is past, owing to the easing of congestion and consumers retreat from spending on home goods as Covid-19 eases, Jefferies is relatively bullish in its full-year outlook as well.

"We expect container freight and containership charter rates to eventually come off the current record highs, but the downshift will not happen as quickly nor as dramatically as some fear. As such, 2022 could match 2021," Giveans said.

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While tanker rates had lost more ground on Friday compared with the week before, particularly in VLCCs and LR2s, stocks edged up ahead of what is presumed to be a long-awaited recovery during 2022.

Tsakos Energy Navigation led the gainers with a 12.8% climb, while Teekay Tankers added 7.4% and Frontline 5.8%.

The top gainer in dry bulk was Diana Shipping, which is relatively insulated against any downside volatility in the dry trade because of its conservative charter coverage. The share gained 5.7% on the week even as peers took small losses.