Märkte | Markets Boxship rates rising faster Momentum in charter market for global container shipping is picking up as prompt tonnage supply tightens. By Michael Hollmann The cautious optimism in the container ship market starts to give way to a more euphoric mood as charter rates begin to see larger month-on-month gains as high as a few thousand dollars in the largest sectors. The smaller sectors have seen significant improvements by hundreds of dollars, too, led by the geared 2,500 TEU, 1,700 TEU and by smaller feeder ship types operating in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Looking at the New ConTex which only covers the 1,100–4,250 TEU classes, the monthly increase in rate levels accelerated to 6.6% which is twice as much as during the previous 4-week period. The Howe Robinson Containership Index which also tracks the larger vessel classes of 5,000–8,500 TEU, was even up over 12% month-on-month by 21 March. Shipbrokers had predicted that rate levels in the traditional post-panamax segments above 5,500 TEU were going to catch up. In fact the rallye in these classes turned out to be a major market driver over the past weeks. Looking back to the end of February, the benchmark fixture for 8,500 TEU class ships at the time was the 6-month extension of the 8,533 TEU »Lloyd Don Giovanni« with Cosco at 16,000 $ per day for transpacific trading. Today, four weeks on, similar ships get fixed at 21,000 $ as illustrated by the 8,814 TEU »Northern Jasper« which joins Evergreen at this level for a 12 months period trading between the Far East and the West Coast of South America. A rise of 5,000 $ within a month is almost reminiscent of the boom years in the early 2000’s. The much firmer trend also spilled over to the older 5,500–6,000 TEU segment where spot earnings increased by more than 4,000 $ when you compare the latest available fixtures with those at the end of February. The most recent transaction reported was the 12-month extension of the 6,008 TEU »E. R. France« at 15,750 $ with MSC for an India/Mediterranean service. With less than a handful tramp ships promptly available for new employment, further improvements are in the offing. Sure enough, shipowners will be trying to aim for rates in excess of 30,000 $ or 20,000 $ for the 5,500- 7,500 TEU class which would be need to cover both opex and capital costs for those vessels that were not purchased at distressed price levels. Capacity injections drive demand To some extent, the recent gains have allayed fears of looming oversupply in the largest charter ship classes due to growing deliveries of ultra-large vessels. 81 newbuildings in excess of 10,000 TEU are expected to join the active fleet this year – almost a third more than in 2017. However, the indications so far are that liner oper- TEU Name dwt Built Type Speed Cons. Charterer Laycan Period Rate ($) FEEDER / HANDY 698 Max Provider 8184 2006 g›less 17.5 30 Hede International Mar 3–5 months Intra-Asia 5300 868 Angela 11403 2005 gʹless 18.0 33.3 Zim Apr 5–7 m Israel / East Med (ext) 8000 1036 Anne Sibum 13172 2007 gʹless 18.5 36 ONE Apr 7 m North Europe 10425 1118 Ionian Express 13797 2006 geared 19.0 38.5 New Pacific Line Mar 4–6 m Far East / S. Pacific 7600 1134 Asiatic Eclipse 12572 2006 gʹless 19.0 43 CMA CGM Apr 2–4 m Intra-Asia (ext) 8500 1284 AS Felicia 18291 2006 geared 19.6 45 Zim Apr 6-8 m Caribbean 10000 1341 AS Franziska 17350 2005 geared 19.0 47 Cosco Apr 4-6 m Intra-Med 10150 1368 Wybelsum 17083 2008 gʹless 20.1 45 Cosco Apr 6 m North Europe 10500 1714 Philippos-Michalis 21718 2015 gʹless 19.7 52.9 Zim / Gold Star Line Apr 2-3 m Intra-Asia (ext) 13800 1730 Charlie 22967 2002 geared 20.0 54.5 Sinokor Apr 6-7 m Intra-Asia 10300 1740 Hansa Magdeburg 23454 2003 geared 20.0 70 Maersk / MCC Apr 4-5 m intra-Asia 10250 1853 Valdivia 22229 2006 geared 21.0 67.2 MSC Mar 12 m North Europe (ext) 11800 SUB-PANAMAX 2202 Cape Fortius 25250 2017 gʹless 19.0 46.5 Maersk / MCC Apr 5-7 m Southeast Asia (ext) 14750 2456 Buxhansa 33995 1998 geared 21.0 67 KMTC Apr 2-4 m China / Korea 11750 +bb 2824 Frisia Oslo 39269 2007 gʹless 23.0 97 Hapag-Lloyd Apr 5-7 m Europe / W. Africa (ext) 10300 3534 Cartagena Trader 42056 2008 gʹless 23.5 122 Messina Line Apr 5-6 m Med / Persian Gulf 11100 TRADITIONAL PANAMAX AND WIDEBEAM 4253 Navios Dorado 50497 2010 gʹless 24.3 150 NileDutch Apr 9-12 m N. Europe / W. Africa 10400 4275 ALS Flora 51750 2009 gʹless 24.0 133.4 KMTC Apr 3-5 m Far East / India 9800 4992 Vermont Trader 67698 2004 gʹless 24.3 164.5 Hapag-Lloyd Apr 3-4 m Med / Mexico 12000 5085 Miami 68463 2007 gʹless 24.3 155 ONE Apr 3 m Japan / Southeast Asia 9500 LARGE AND VERY LARGE 6008 E. R. France 67591 2001 gʹless 25.5 205 MSC Apr 12 m Asia / Med (ext) 15750 6966 Crete I 85622 2009 gʹless 25.6 210 ONE Mar 12 m Far East / US East Coast 18950 8063 Seamax Darien 99518 2003 gʹless 25.0 248 MSC Apr 12 m Far East / Red Sea 20000 8814 Northern Jasper 108804 2009 gʹless 25.0 265 Evergreen Mar 12 m Far East / WCSA 21000 9034 Asiatic Summer 111890 2014 gʹless 20.0 87.8 Hapag-Lloyd Apr 36 m worldwide (ext) 29250 Charter deals / all information without guarantee 12 HANSA International Maritime Journal – 155. Jahrgang – 2018 – Nr. 4
Märkte | Markets Orders & Sales New Orders Container Only two orders were placed during the last weeks. CMA CGM has ordered six 14,000 TEU vessels plus a similar number of options at Hyundai HI. The dual-fuel LNG ships are scheduled for delivery within 2020 for 1.7bn $. Simatech ordered 2+2 sub-panamax vessels. The 2,800 TEU ships will be built at Guangzhou Wenchong for around 31 mill.$ each. Secondhand Sales Container The price increase observable in the past months for most vessel types has halted in March. The list of workable containerships for sale continues to look thin. The strong charter market is creating the competition to push pricing above last done. The ratio of vended feeders was particularly high during the second part of February and the first half of March. Again, MPC Container Ship AS acquired various vessels in the range between 1,300 and 3,400 TEU. The latest purchase encompassed five ships from Simatech for a total price of 41.9 mill. $. Ship Finance International purchased a fleet of 15 vessels ranging from 1,100 to 4,400 TEU. The company did not reveal the purchase price but it was indicated that the sum was »close to the recycling value of the vessels.« The acquisition is backed by long term bareboat charters to a major container line, which some speculators believe could be MSC. Demolition Sales Bustle at the recycling market for container vessels remained low during the last weeks – only three vessels were sold for scrap. The upward trend in the charter market combined with a robust vessel demand resulted in a limited availability of demo units. The few vessels sold for scrap could achieve high prices. On the Indian sub-continent, the 1985 built feeder container ship »OEL BENGAL« for example was sold for 478 $ per ldt. Jan Göldner COMPASS CONTAINER SHIP T/C MARKET 500 460 420 380 24.10.17 22.03.18 Month on Month467 +6.6 % CONTAINER FREIGHT MARKET WCI Shanghai-Rotterdam 1,415 $/FEU - 18.7 % WCI Shanghai-Los Angeles 1,287 $/FEU - 13.4 % Average rates spot/up to 4 weeks validity WCI = World Container Index, supplier: Drewry ators still need all or most of the large charter vessels they can get to implement all the planned network upgrades. A number of new services are currently being set up including two Far East/West Coast South America, one transpacific, one transatlantic and one Asia-Europe loop. In total, more than 60 ships with an aggregate capacity of 360,000 TEU are needed for these new services, in what Alphaliner predicts will lend another boost to the charter market. Meanwhile in the panamax and the handy/feeder classes below 4,000 TEU, market rates have been progressing at varying speeds. In the 4,000–5,100 TEU panamax class, fixing levels in the tonnage-starved Atlantic went up significantly to over 10,000 $ for baby panamaxes and 12,000 $ for maxi-panamax vessels, while in Asia the momentum has been lagging, with rates edging up slowly in the mid ,000’s. 3,500 TEU and gearless 2,800 TEU ships finally succeeded in breaching the ,000-barrier on the way up but the most spectacular rises could be observed in the geared 2,500 TEU segment – a traditional workhorse of many intra-regional and north/south trades. Of note, Korean carrier KMTC in need of a ship with a limited length overall was forced to pay a top rate of 11,750 $ plus ballast bonus for the 1998-built 2,456 TEU »Buxhansa« with delivery in Busan. »Due to a number of uncovered requirements in this segment, rates are bound to increase further,« as one Hamburg broker pointed out. Modern gearless SDARI 2100 types (2,200 TEU) were stealing a march on other vessels between 2,000 and 3,000 TEU with new benchmark fixtures of 14,750 $ to Maersk/ MCC. This rate even exceeds levels fixed for modern wide-beam 4,600 TEU ships, more than twice as big. Moving down to the sub-2,000 TEU feeder classes, the 1,700 TEU sector excelled with substantial rises that now see standard older Wenchong types securing fresh employment in all regions at rates above 10,000 $ per day. Of note, even an older B170 type (»Charlie«) obtained over 10,000 $ for six months Intra-Asia trading with Sinokor. But this is even dwarfed by the improvements for modern fuel-efficient 1,700 TEU types (Topaz 1700, Wenchong II) which now get rate at well above 13,000 $ per day. For the smallest feeder classes, the market in Europe and the Mediterranean offered the biggest rewards, with 1,000 TEU ice class vessels securing employment at over 10,000 $ per day for continent/Baltic trades. The Caribbean continued to be faced with tonnage shortages as well, enabling owners of high-reefer geared 1,300 TEU ships to push rates up by around 1,000 to 10,000 $ per day. The Asian feeder markets offer a more mixed picture, with market rates for geared 1,100 TEU ships inching up slightly to 7,600 $ per day while the 700 TEU class remains stuck in the low/mid ,000’s in spite of there being basically no ships available. M DRY CARGO / BULK Baltic Dry Index 1117 - 4.3 % Spot time charter averages ($/day) Capesize 5TC average 13,512 - 34.3 % Panamax 4TC average 12,797 + 3.7 % Supramax 6TC average 12,599 + 26.0 % Handysize 6TC average 9,377 + 20.9 % Forward / ffa front month Apr ($/day) Capesize 180k 13,110 - 21.6 % Panamax 13,715 + 3.8 % MPP March ´17 $ 6,017 TMI Toepfer's Multipurpose Index March ´18 $ 6,956 The index is based on a 12,500 tdw MPP/HL »F-Type« vessel for a 6-12 months TC and represents the monthly assessment from operators, owners and brokers. TANKERS Baltic Dirty Tanker Index 649 + 0.6 % Baltic Clean Tanker Index 560 - 9.4 % SHORTSEA / COASTER Norbroker 3,500 dwt earnings est. 3,100 €/d - 3.1 % HC Shortsea Index 19.63 + 1.3 % ISTFIX Shortsea Index 856 + 0.7 % Norbroker: spot t/c equivalent assessment basis round voyage North Sea/Baltic; HC Shipping & Chartering index tracking spot freights on 5 intra-European routes; Istfix Istanbul Freight Index covering spot freight ex Black Sea Data per 22.03.2018, Alterations within four weeks HANSA International Maritime Journal – 155. Jahrgang – 2018 – Nr. 4 13
