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Soy and sugar cargoes boost South Atlantic rates

Soy and sugar cargoes boost South Atlantic rates

THIS week ended charterers’ successful resistance to rising supramax spot rates, as the market rallied again on the back of increasing cargo demand.

Atlantic business led the charge, as the flow of agribulk cargoes out of South America continued to increase this week. Harvest season in this region is nearing its peak output, and sugar and soya exports out of South America are still growing. With the rainy season in Brazil over, more iron ore cargoes have been coming out of the port of Santana as well.

As a result, by Thursday the Baltic Exchange’s benchmark West Africa to Asia via South America route reached $16,767 per day.

Nearby markets followed the South Atlantic trade on its way up, with the US Gulf particularly strong. Brokers active in this market reported owners negotiating pet coke cargoes for shipment to Asia at rates of $24,000 per day.

The rally was a welcome change from last week, when rates levelled off for a while as a growing amount of open tonnage in the Pacific pushed charterers to resist the rising numbers that owners were demanding.

“At the beginning of this week, nobody knew where to go; the market was not so impressive,” one broker said. “Now the market is definitely firming up again.”

The broker pointed out that, sadly, there was an obvious break in rates development in the Atlantic. Weak markets in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea were driving ballasters out to Gibraltar to join the Atlantic trade.

“That puts a strain on markets in both South America and the US Gulf, so rates there won’t go through the roof,” the broker said. “As long as the Med market is crap for supras, rates are not going to skyrocket [in the Atlantic].”

The Pacific followed suit with the rates uptick last week, with coal exports out of Indonesia, which usually start to decline around this time of year, still strong enough to sustain the market. The Baltic Exchange’s benchmark South China via Indonesia to India route moved up to reach $11,968 per day by Thursday.

With nickel ore season moving into full swing in the Pacific, the best earnings were to be had by shipowners willing to fix these cargoes.

Nickel ore cargoes can pose a lethal danger to a ship’s crew if they are not handled properly.

One shipowner was even able to fix a rate above $20,000 per day carrying this mud-like ore. Evalend Shipping’s 2007-built, 58,811 dwt Consolidator was fixed out to Samsun on a trip from Manila via Southeast Asia to North China at a rate of $21,500 per day last Friday.