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VLCC saw a steady week where an eco scrubber fitted ended at $42,000 per day, up as much as 22% from the previous week. Aframax remained steady, with a 9% increase. Historically, March, April and May are weak months for the tanker market due to the refinery maintenance period. The refinery maintenance season comes between winter and “driving season” which historically are the high points if you own a tanker. With the rates already at $80,000 in “low season”, the world’s tanker owners can look forward to summer. Oil companies are frantically trying to add tonnage to their contracts, and we’ve seen several Aframax on 2-year contracts worth $50,000. No vessels have officially been signed at $50,000 on a 1-year contract yet, but it is only a matter of time before this will be the case. Suezmax and Aframax are expected to remain robust, but we expect the VLCC fleet to be hit by the OPEC+ output reduction.
Aframax, 12 months TC
Aframax, Average spot
Another slow week with average rates down 8%. Capesize alone fell 12% ending at $16.800 per day after the news that the Chinese macro situation was weaker than expected. Panamax experienced long tonnage lists combined with a lack of fresh cargoes which made the owners offer discounts. Handy was quite stable, but the news of the grain corridor to Ukraine brought some fresh optimism. The efficiency of the dry cargo ports post-Covid has meant that ships are spending less time out of port which in turn leads to a competitive market.
Capesize, 12 months TC
Kamsarmax, 12 months TC
The market remained steady as expected. In line with the high rates, ship prices continue to rise. It is rumoured that a 20 year old 6,500 CEU was signed on a 3-year contract at around $60,000 per day. The high pressure to secure ships on longer contracts has more or less led to the fact that there is no spot market. Charterers know that there are few ships available and that environmental requirements will mean that about 60% of the fleet will have to start slow steaming soon. It is expected that ships will have to slow down by 3-5 knots. If the non-compliant ships (60% of the fleet) slow down by 1 knot, the market will need about 30 new ships to meet the current demand. The PCTC market currently doesn’t hold 30 available ships, therefore we will see rental rates and ship values be pushed up. Höegh Autoliner’s streak of terminating bareboat charters so far this year can be used as a reference for this. Hoegh has terminated 5 contracts so far this year in order to effectively buy the ships back into its fleet.
Clarksons, the world’s largest shipbroker, is now pricing newbuilds at between 110,000 and 120,000.
5000 CEU – 12 months TC
6500 CEU – 12 months TC
No transactions of interest.
No transactions of interest.
| Type | Tons | Week 10 | Week 9 | + /- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLCC | 300t. | $ 42000 | $ 42000 | 0 % |
| Suemax | 180t. | $ 45500 | $ 45500 | 0 % |
| Aframax | 120t. | $ 46250 | $ 46250 | 0 % |
| MR | 80t. | $ 30500 | $ 30500 | 0 % |
| Type | Resale | 5y | 10y | 15y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLCC | 125 | 100 | 76 | 60 |
| Suemax | 85 | 68.5 | 53.5 | 31 |
| Aframax | 77.50 | 62.50 | 50 | 38.50 |
| MR | 50 | 42 | 34 | 24 |
| Type | Tons | Week 10 | Week 9 | + /- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capesize | 180t. | $ 17250 | $ 18250 | -3 % |
| Panamax | 76t. | $ 14355 | $ 14375 | -1 % |
| Supramax | 58t. | $ 13680 | $ 13750 | -1 % |
| Handysize | 30t. | $ 13150 | $ 13150 | -1 % |
| Type | Resale | 5y | 10y | 15y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capesize | 66 | 54.5 | 33 | 21 |
| Panamax | 40 | 34 | 25 | 17 |
| Supramax | 38.5 | 32 | 21.5 | 15.50 |
| Handysize | 32 | 26.5 | 19 | 12.50 |
