Owners raising rates ex Danube ports amid growing congestion

This week, an upward trend continues in the segment for shipments ex Ukrainian Danube ports, with rates growing literally day after day. This is mainly referred to growing congestions, waiting times and high war risks. At the moment:

• Several charterers are already ready to pay $55-56/t for shipment of 5-6,000 t of wheat from Reni or Izmail to EgyptMed, while most owners are seeking to get closer to $60/t (equivalent to $5.5-5.7k daily vs. $6k+ daily bss RV given 7 days of waiting time on owner’s acct for vessels with no AWRP required or to $4.1-4.3k daily vs. $4.5k+ daily bss RV with AWRP on owner’s acct);
• Some grain traders offer $54/t for shipment of 7,000 t of wheat from Izmail to Alexandria with 2,000 sshex bends l/d rates and 2H August laycans, which exceeds $7k daily bss RV for vessels with no AWRP required;
• 6-6,600 t of wheat are offered for shipment from Izmail to Ravenna at $59.5/t, which is equivalent to $5.8-6k daily bss RV for vessels with no AWRP required;
• Other exporters are ready to pay $65/t for transportation of 6,000 t of wheat from Reni or Izmail to SpanMed given 1,500 sshex l/d rates (equivalent to $5.6-5.8k daily bss RV for vessels with no AWRP required);
• The deal for shipment of 4,000 t of corn + wheat from Izmail to Bari is discussed at $57-58/t, which gives the TCE of $4-4.2k daily bss RV;
• 3,000 t of corn are carried from Izmail to Israel at $59.5/t, which is equivalent to $3.5-3.6k daily bss RV for vessels with no AWRP required and $1k less with AWRP on owner’s acct.

As for larger lots:

• Charterers target mere $51-52/t for shipment of 8-8,500 t of corn from Izmail to the Italian Adriatic and $55/t to SpanMed (equivalent to $6.3-6.7k daily bss RV for 10k dwcc vessels with no AWRP required);
• Meanwhile, other traders offer $64/t for transportation of 11,000 t of corn from Reni to the Adriatic Sea and $66/t to WC Italy bss 1/1, which means $12-13k daily bss RV for 14-15k dwcc vessels with no AWRP required and $2-3k less with AWRP on owner’s acct;
• Charterers are ready to pay $44/t for shipment of 7,000 t of agri products (sf 54`) from Izmail to Constanta with 1,500 sshex bends l/d rates, 2H August laycans and 7 days of waiting time on owner’s acct, which exceeds $8k daily bss dely BlSea redel Constanta for vessels with no AWRP required.

The spot market remains uneventful in other parts of the Black Sea, with rates holding relatively steady:

• Charterers are ready to pay $31/t for spot shipment of 6,000 t of agri products (sf 59-60`) from Constanta to EgyptMed given 1,250x/1,500x l/d rates (equivalent to $3.3-3.5k daily bss RV for an about 7.5k dwt vessel);
• The deal for transportation of 3,000 t of corn from Constanta to Larnaca with 1,500 sshex bends l/d rates is negotiated at $26-27/t, which is equivalent to $1.7-1.8k daily bss RV;
• Brokers suggest mid-$20s/t for shipment of 7-8,000 t of wheat from Bulgaria to Tunisia or the Italian Adriatic bss 1/1;
• Transportation of scrap by an almost 5k dwt vessel from Varna to Nemrut Bay is discussed at $70-75k bss lumpsum, which corresponds to mere $15-16/t bss 4.7-4,800 t of so-called dwt cargo;
• Charterers offer low $20s/t for shipment of 8,700 t of steels from Novorossiysk to Iskenderun with 2,000c/2,000x l/d rates and 18-28 August laycans, which hardly reaches even $3.5k daily for vessels with no AWRP required;
• The deal for transportation of around 10,000 t of steels from Novorossiysk to Haifa is discussed at mid-$30s/t bss FILO;
• Charterers are ready to pay at best $13/t for quick shipment of up to 6,000 t of coal from Tuapse or Novo to TBS bss 1/1;
• The deal for shipment of 5,000 t of coal from Kavkaz port to Iskenderun has been agreed at $53/t;
• Carrying 7-8,000 t of urea from Poti to Constanta is estimated by ISM at $16-17/t, while the deal for shipment of 3,000 t of the cargo on a similar route has been recently signed at quite strong mid-$20s/t;
• Brokers suggest $13-14/t for transportation of 2,500 t of bagged AN from Varna to Constanta given 800 sshex bends l/d rates and late August laycans.