Freight rates in the Black Sea region remained on the previous week’s level.
According to Glogos Project, freight rates for shipping wheat by coasters to the Sea of Marmara from North-West Black Sea ports (Ukrainian Yuzhny, Kherson, Odessa, Nikolaev, Ilyichevsk) made $23 per ton, from West Black Sea ports (Varna, Burgas, Constanta) made $22 per ton, and from North-East Black Sea (Novorossiysk) made $25 per ton.
Freight rates for shipping metal scrap by coasters from North-West Black Sea ports to the Sea of Marmara made $25 per ton.
Freight rates for shipping coal by coasters from West coast of Black Sea ports to the Sea of Marmara made $19 per ton, freight rates from Novorossiysk were $23 per ton.
Due to the bad weather in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, many vessels were delayed for their next voyages, and for the present have accumulated in the Kerch Straight area.
According to Glogos Project, since most of the vessels arriving late were fixed several weeks ago at high rates, charterers are cancelling a lot of voyages and looking for alternatives at the moment, while the market is at a low ebb.
For mid-December, ship owners are seeking short voyages, but their preferences are expected to change dramatically from the 20th of December – all ship owners will want to take a long voyage in order to avoid extended idle times during the New Year holidays.
Transshipment of grains and not-grain cargoes (coal) on OPL has activated. Some foreign-flagged fleet owners continue to make transshipments on OPL, despite last-year repressions by PSC.
If the situation does not change, the demand for the Russian flag can decline next year. So far, Russian-flagged vessels keep on transporting cargoes to Port Kavkaz, and demand for them does not seem to decrease.
We remind you that the rates cited in the article are average market rates. We ask our readers to pay attention that this information is not a commercial offer and cannot be an example for comparison in commercial disputes and arbitration proceedings.