HANSA 10-2022

Orders & Sales – Container Ships
New Orders – A certain skepticism has spread throughout the container shipping
industry. Geopolitical uncertainties and their effects on world trade and
tonnage demand are causing less activity. From Germany, USC Barnkrug has ordered
another two 1,300 TEU feeders, Hartmann is said to have inked
3 x 3,500 TEU. Some regional players from Asia have also ordered small newbuildings.
However, there appear to be bigger plans elsewhere. For example,
major lines such as CMA CGM, MSC (12 x 16,000 TEU with LNG propulsion)
and Maersk (10 x 17,000 and 10 x 2,500 TEU with dual-fuel methanol propulsion).
Cosco is even said to be planning orders for more than 30 ships with
580,000 TEU (dual fuel methanol. The world‘s largest tramp shipping company
Seaspan cancelled 4 x 7,000 TEU.
Secondhand Sales – Since the beginning of September, the second-hand market
has become even more quiet. Although various ships are offered, the interest is increasingly
limited, as the prospects are rather bleak, at least compared to the previous
months.
Demolition – Still no demo news. However, in view of the above mentioned uncetainties,
brokers expect a re-start of scrapping sales.
year, 2023 will still be a record year for
earnings. Spending some of it to pay
ships for staying out of the trade and preserving
some kind of balance makes
sense because a hard landing for all in the
market would be more damaging. Not
only for shipping but also for trade and
the economy at large. A slump in rates
and a full-blown bust in the shipping industry
usually entails a lot more stress,
defaults and restructuring of services
than well-timed capacity reductions
aimed at stabilising the market. Just when
shipping services are gradually starting to
normalise after two years of disruptions…
Imagine: war, inflation and an
another round of (shipping) disruptions?
What a nightmare.
Container ship t / c market
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
24.03.22
Container freight market
WCI Shanghai-Rotterdam
WCI Shanghai-Los Angeles
MÄRKTE | MARKETS
COMPASS
ConTex
6,027 $ /F EU
3,779 $ /FEU
22.09.22
Month on Month 2,055 -31.6 %
Dry cargo / Bulk
Baltic Dry Index
1,720
Time charter averages / spot: $ /d
Capesize 5TC average
16,000
Panamax 5TC average (82k)
17,983
Supramax 10TC average (58k) 18,008
Handysize 7TC average (38k)
17,130
Forward / ffa front month (Oct’22): $ /d
Capesize 180k
19,379
Panamax 82k
19,157
MPP
- 24.7 %
- 38.3 %
+53.2 %
+307 %
+40.3 %
–7.1 %
+1.5 %
+83.9 %
+34.1 %
September '22
21,608 $
body’s guess. If alliances don’t continue
cutting back or blanking capacity, rates
will keep drifting lower.
What’s the outlook then for 2023?
Braun: As it stands, container fleet
growth will begin to outstrip demand
growth from now, supported also by
freeing up of capacity due to easing congestion.
However, we don’t foresee a return
to the low freight levels of former
years. Rates are going to remain higher
than in 2019 also because slot costs of carriers
have increased as well in the meantime.
An important issue for us in upcoming
negotiations with container lines
is integration of systems and data to improve
transparency and reliability. This is
high up on the agenda and absolutely key
for improvements in service quality along
the door-to-door transport chain.
Finally a word on the port situation in
North Europe which has become a hotspot
of congestion this year. How do you
cope with it? Are you changing routings
for containers where possible?
Braun: It is no secret that vessel waiting
times are much higher in Hamburg
than in other ports. In early September
we counted 13 ships in transatlantic
and Far East services waiting
to berth in Hamburg versus just one
or two in Bremerhaven, Rotterdam or
Antwerp. Therefore we have advised
clients to use services to Bremerhaven
or to Rotterdam rather than to Hamburg
where possible, even if it involved
slightly longer trucking, rail or
barge distances to import warehouses.
Delays via Hamburg were just
too severe.
Interview Michael Hollmann
September '21
14,038 $
12,500 tdw MPP/HL »F-Type« vessel for a 6–12 months TC
Tankers
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index
Baltic Clean Tanker Index
Shortsea / Coaster
Norbroker 3,500 dwt earnings est. €
HC Shortsea Index
TMI – Toepfer's
Multipurpose Index
BMTI/EUSSIX Inter-Black Sea ($/t)
Bunkers
VLSFO 0.5 Rotterdam $ /t
MGO Rotterdam $ /t
Forward / Swap price Q4/22
VLSFO 0.5 Rotterdam $ /t
1,501
1,243
4,200
30.73
32.67
644
971
580
–3.1 %
–3.6 %
+5.0 %
- 7.3 %
- 13.5 %
Norbroker: spot t/c equivalent assessment basis round voyage
North Sea/Baltic; HC Shipping & Chartering index tracking spot
freights on 5 intra-European routes;
BMTI/EUSSIX: 3,000 t Odessa to Sea of Marmara
–9.3 %
–6.3 %
–4.5 %
Data per 22.09.2022, month-on-month
HANSA – International Maritime Journal 10 | 2022
11