Black Sea river-sea coaster market registered a decline this week. Freight rates for 3,000-tonne wheat cargoes on the Azov-Marmara route fell from $39-40/tonne to $36-37/tonne. On the Rostov-Marmara route, freight rates fell from $41-42/tonne to $39/tonne. There was also a decline on the Rostov-Mersin route, from $57-58/tonne to $56-57/tonne.

In the conventional market, there was no change in freight rates from Novorossiysk, as has been the case for weeks. Freight rates for 5,000 tonnes of steel to Marmara were around $17-18/tonne, while freight rates for 5,000 tonnes of wheat were around $18-19/tonne.

Meanwhile, freight rates for 6,000 tonnes of grain shipped from Izmail to Marmara continued at around 19 USD per tonne levels.

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) continued to fluctuate up and down. The index rose from 1,979 points to 2,126 points. All sub-indices recovered this week.

The Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) rose from 1,456 points to 1,492 points. Average revenues also rose from $18,399 per day to $18,856.

Looking at the routes, freight rates on the Black Sea-Far East route, which had reached $19,483/day last week, rose to $19,950/day. Daily revenues for fixtures from the Gulf of Mexico to the Far East also rose from $29,486/day to $31,271/day. Far East averages, however, fell slightly from last week's $17,197/day to $16,675/day.

The Baltic Handysize Index (BHSI) rose from 787 points to 804 points. Average revenues increased from $14,165 per day to $14,475 per day.

Handysize revenues for the Black Sea, Mediterranean, and Continent routes continued at last week's levels of $11,000/day. In the Far East, daily revenues remained around $13,000/day.

Revenues on the South America-Continent route continued their upward trend, rising from $19,789 per day last week to $21,517 per day. Average revenues in the Far East markets recorded another slight decline, adjusting from $13,281 per day to $13,249 per day.

Let's close this week with sales. There are increases in number of reported transactions.

This week, the 2016 Japanese-built 60K DWT Ultramax “Hakata Queen” was sold for $23.5 million. The 2013 Chinese-built “Konya” changed hands for $18.4 million. A newly built 64K DWT Ultramax vessel from China was sold for $33 million.

As far as we can tell, a significant number of Supramax vessels were sold this week. Starting with the newest ones, the 2012 Vietnam-built 59K DWT “Pacific Ace” and “Pacific Pride” were each sold for $13.8 million. The 2009 Vietnam-built 53K DWT “AP Sveti Vlaho” and “AP Drzic” were likely sold as a block for approximately $11 million each, according to our estimates.

The 58K DWT “Lycavitos,” built in the Philippines in 2007, was sold for $12 million, while the “Jin Rong,” built in 2008, was sold for $11.93 million. The 57K DWT “Marinor,” built in China in 2009, went for $10.8 million.

In handysize sales, the 2020 Philippine-built 38K DWT “Lilac Harmony” went for over $25 million. The 2013 Chinese-built 31K DWT sister ships ‘Mykonos’ and “Madrid” sold for $11 million.

As for newbuilds, a large 41K DWT handysize vessel under construction in Jiangsu Dajin was sold for $29 million, scheduled for delivery in 2026.

No sales of coasters were reported this week either.

We bid you a great week ahead...