Coaster owners still manage to get high rates in Baltic and North Seas

The Baltic Sea spot market continues to show low activity in the coaster segment. Cargoes are still mainly carried on a COA basis, while spot offer is rather limited. However, the vessel list is also moderate in the basin. Many owners who used to work in the Baltic area preferred to transfer tonnage to more promising regions. In these circumstances, owners manage to keep rates at strong levels, being additionally supported by high bunker prices:
A 4,000 t lot of pellets has been fixed from Estonia to ARA ports at mid-€30s/t;
The charterer has paid about €27/t for transportation of 5,000 t of steel scrap from Denmark to ARA ports;
Rates for shipment of steel scrap by a 4-4.5k dwt vessel from eastern Sweden to Riga are voiced by charterers closer to $60k bss lumpsum.

ISM sources note slightly higher activity on the Continent market, while regional vessel list is also rather short. Thus, owners still feel confident enough:
A 5,000 t lot of coal has been fixed from ARA ports to Denmark at €20/t;
Transportation of 3,000 t of fertilizers in big bags from ECUK to St. Malo is negotiated at €34-36/t;
Rates for shipment of 4-5,000 t of dwt cargo from eastern Ireland to northern Spain are voiced by brokers at €23-25/t;
The contract for transportation of 10-11,000 t of minerals from Portugal to Ravenna has been concluded at $34/t.