In the Azov region, the 37th week can be considered a benchmark before market formation for the end of September and the beginning of October. While at the start of the week the freight market was still trying to grow, at the end owners were already paying attention to voyages with minimal margins in order to wait out the period of falling rates. According to Glogos Project, on Monday and Tuesday, when discussing shipments of already paid parcels for the middle of the month, it was possible to get from charterers a rate at the level of $22 per ton of wheat on the Yeisk to Marmara basis.
However, amid the news about the situation in the commodity market, participants assumed that in the second half of September there will be less volume of grain in the Azov sea ports than at the beginning of the month. The market conditions may be affected by the problems with cargo delivery; almost all market participants have faced this issue. In view of this, at the end of the week, voyages from Azov or Rostov to the Adriatic became quite competitive at rates of just under $40. However, no freight collapse is expected; the market will be supported by the upcoming corn crop.
During the 37th week, a lack of spot tonnage was observed in the Azov region, as the fleet was completely fixed a week before. As is usually the case in a growing market, short voyages were favored at the beginning of the week. An additional $2-3 for the long-distance voyage was necessary to get owners interested. And only owners of small vessels up to 2,000 dwt were eager to compromise on rates as due to the low cost of a port call they made a good profit in the economy of the voyage. Such vessels will most likely be in high demand in the near future, since the entire river-sea fleet will be sought on a short leg.
The freight market in the Azov and Black Sea regions generally follows in the wake of the price fluctuations in the global commodity market. At the moment, in the context of the growing FOB prices for grains, trading is carried out in small parcels. The Russian ports in the Sea of Azov are the most convenient for working with parcels of 3-5 thousand tons. This is one of the reasons why, amid low rates from Ukraine, the Azov market does not fall, despite the problems with grain delivery.
Black Sea grain may still be called the most competitive, and the price growth for it on FOB terms has been observed in the region. Due to the poor harvest, grain offer from the West Black Sea ports and the Danube is quite small this year. Prices for both Russian and Ukrainian grain have increased significantly, and this process continues. In view of the fact that there is not much cargo in the market for the second half of September, working on sales for September is still underway. Thus, it is expected that the 38th week will shape the freight market for the rest of September and the first week of October.
According to Glogos Project, on week 37, freight rates for 3,000-5,000 dwt vessels for wheat parcels to the Sea of Marmara made $22 pmt from Rostov and Azov, $21 pmt from Yeisk and Taganrog, and $19 from Temryuk.
Freight rates for coal to the Sea of Marmara made $21 pmt from Rostov and Azov, $20 pmt from Yeisk and Taganrog, and $18 from Temryuk.
In the Caspian region, the Turkmen Garabogazkarbamid plant was stopped due to an accident. For this reason, a large part of the Russian-flagged fleet cancelled voyages. The repairs are expected to last for no less than two to three weeks. Until the plant resumes operating, there will be a growing demand for loading grain from river elevators to the Black and Marmara seas, or for any other loading point from the ports of Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan with work in transit.
Freight rates in the Caspian did not change.
Freight rates for 3,000 dwt vessels for barley to Iran made $20 pmt from Astrakhan, $16 from Aktau and $17 pmt from Makhachkala.
Please note that the rates cited in this 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.