HANSA 04-2018

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