THE substantial number of ships taken out of service for
scrubber refitting has tightened tonnage supply at start of the winter slack
season in the container charter market, reports London's Loadstar.
According to Alphaliner data, there are 44
containerships, for a total capacity of 436,000 TEU, in dry dock for the
installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems.
These will enable the vessels to continue to bunker with
cheaper HFO (heavy fuel oil) after the IMO's 0.5 per cent sulphur cap on marine
fuel becomes law in January.
"Despite the onset of the slack winter season on the
cargo front, demand for container tonnage remains sustained, with activity in
the charter market showing no significant signs of weakening," reported
the consultant.
Alphaliner said the highlight of the previous two weeks
had been a renewed rally in demand for the "classic" panamax sizes of
4,000-5,100 TEU, with a "substantial number of fixtures concluded".
As
a result, daily hire rates for panamax vessels ticked up again and now stand at
over US$14,000.
One broker told Loadstar he was working a young panamax
"on subs" at $16,000 a day, with the container line charterer
agreeing to pay for positioning and some other costs.
Today's rates are a far cry from the bad situation that
existed in early 2017, when brokers "couldn't give away" panamax
ships and owners counted themselves lucky if they achieved over $5,000 a day.
They mostly also had to pay to position the ship and agree to the charterer's
'flexible' options charter party clauses.
Source : HKSG.
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