Black Sea-river type market was stable and slightly downward due to Turkey's reduced desire for purchases, the lack of full emergence of the new harvests, Russia's withdrawal from the grain corridor agreement and its continued opposition by stating that "they would consider vessels going to Ukraine as vessels shipping potential military aid" and the congestion in Kerch.  Azov-Samsun wheat shipments based on 3,000 tonnes fell to quote levels of 28-29 dollars/tonne from 29-30 dollars/tonne quote levels the previous week. Rostov-Mersin shipments have still maintained their levels of 60s dollars/tonne.

Russia's stance will also reflect on the conventional coasters trade. As all Ukrainian trade shifts to the Danube River, congestion is likely to increase. But if Russia also threatens the Sulina and Bystroe canals, the consequences for conventional coasters will translate to more commercial losses. Moreover, insurance and shipowner reservations will play an important role.

Reni-Marmara 5-6,000 tonnes fixtures came towards the low-30s from 27-28 dollars/tonne last week. 5,000 tonnes of mineral cargo were shipped from Izmail to Izmir at 35 dollars/tonne. 5-6K DWT lots from Izmail to Eastern Mediterranean increased to 45 dollars/tonne again. Novorossiysk-Marmara businesses based on 5,000 tonnes in steel shipments were around 20-21 dollars/tonne this week.

Regarding large tonnage, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) surprised market participants by declining this week. The index fell to 978 points this week from 1,103 points last week. The Baltic Supramax Index rose from 743 points to 758 points. The Handysize Index declined again, but only from 409 points to 400, a not-so-dramatic decline. We're hoping that it might stabilize soon.

Let us further discuss handies. The daily revenues fell to 7,369 dollars/day instead of 7,627dollars/day. The fixtures for the Black Sea-Mediterranean remained at the level of 6,000 dollars/day. The Continent route also maintained around 6,500 dollars/day and the front-hauls from the Black Sea to the Far East are still around 8,500 dollars/day. The South America-Continent route fell to around 10,900 dollars/day from 11,483 dollars/day previous week.

Recovery for the Supramax tonnage kept going. The average revenues of supramax tonnage, which managed to recover from  8,000 dollars/day to  8,178 dollars/day in the previous week, approached 8,350 dollars/ day this week. In the Far East, the average increased by a remarkable 10 percent to 7,704 dollars/day. The Black Sea-Far East also recovered slightly and rose to 10,625 dollars/day. The Gulf of Mexico-Far East route continued to recover as well, approaching 15,000 dollars/day.

Sales and let us call it a week..

In Handysize tonnage, the "Tomini Zonda" (2016, Chinese-built, 38K DWT) was sold for 19.3 million dollars, while the 2015 Japanese-built "Glorius Mahuta" in the same tonnage was sold for 20.5 million dollars.

As for the Supramax tonnage, the 2013 Chinese-built 58K DWT "Alice" went for 17.8 million dollars. 2011-2012 Korean-built supramaxes are also offered on the market for the same prices.

Have a nice week...