Charter parties

Containership earnings bonanza continues in the red hot charter market

The charter market just keeps getting better and better for non-operating containership owners, with record daily hire rates turbo-charging the value of their assets.
Yesterday during a company update investor call, MPC Container Ships (MPCC) CEO Constantin Baack said 2022 had started “even stronger” for the charter market than it finished in December.
Mr Baack said there was strong evidence of long-term structural changes in the containership charter sector, which had moved …

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https://theloadstar.com/containership-earnings-bonanza-continues-in-the-red-hot-charter-market/

Carriers ‘scraping the barrel’ for tonnage as charter supply squeeze goes on

Carriers are “scraping the bottom of the barrel” for available tonnage, as the percentage of the global containership fleet commercially idle and not in dry dock has fallen to just 0.8%.
And according to the latest Alphaliner survey, the severe shortage of open tonnage is obliging potential charterers to significantly streamline the assessment process of candidates.
The consultant counted only 56 container vessels, for a capacity of 205,000 teu, as inactive, which …

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https://theloadstar.com/carriers-scraping-the-barrel-for-tonnage-as-charter-supply-squeeze-goes-on/

‘The sky’s the limit’ for charter rates – that’s if you can find a ship

Containership owners are instructing their brokers not to entertain fixture offers of less than 12 months, and some are insisting on minimum two-year charters.
The charter market boxship boom that began in the larger sizes has filtered through to the smallest sectors, with Alphaliner reporting on several 24-month employments for vessels under 1,000 teu.
The consultant noted the new fixture of the 803 teu Jork Ruler by Peel Ports-owned feeder operator BG …

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https://theloadstar.com/the-skys-the-limit-for-charter-rates-thats-if-you-can-find-a-ship/

Containership charter market has gone ‘bananas’, with 2M on a ‘fixing spree’

Ocean carriers are becoming increasingly confident that freight rates will remain high for years and are still chartering ships for lengthy periods at elevated daily hire rates last seen 16 years ago.
Alphaliner reports that Maersk has just fixed a trio of 4,600 teu handy classic panamax vessels for periods of 24 to 27 months at a staggeringly high rate of $35,000 per day. The consultant noted that the last time a …

The post Containership charter market has gone ‘bananas’, with 2M on a ‘fixing...

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How box lines can break free of the ‘boom-and-bust treadmill’ to stay profitable

Ocean carriers are enjoying a bull run of profitability, thanks to demand spikes and inflated freight rates, and now there is a unique opportunity for them to break out of the boom-and-bust industry cycle.
According to consultant AlixPartners’ 2021 Container Shipping Outlook, “the fundamentals that would support a breakaway from that cycle are in place”, adding: “Long the sick man of the transport ecosystem, the container shipping industry stands on the brink …

The post How box lines can break...

https://theloadstar.com/how-box-lines-can-break-free-of-the-boom-and-bust-treadmill-to-stay-profitable/

No sympathy for carriers from shippers who must foot the bill for bunker hikes

Higher fuel costs are triggering increases in ocean carrier bunker surcharges, adding more misery for shippers already struggling with record high freight rates and additional fees.
Today’s price for low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) at Rotterdam is just under $500 per ton, which is up 25% since the beginning of the year and some 60% higher than in November.
And carriers are busy resetting their fuel increase recovery mechanisms, effective today or from …

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https://theloadstar.com/no-sympathy-for-carriers-from-shippers-who-must-foot-the-bill-for-bunker-hikes/

Danaos profits and recharters on the up as liner ‘purple patch’ continues

Ocean carriers and containership owners are in the midst of the richest vein for the liner sector in over a decade. 
The shipping lines are confidently predicting record earnings for the first quarter, with the expectation that the current profitability purple patch will continue at least as far as Q2, underpinned by sky-high spot rates, and beyond that boosted by annual contract rate increases being reported of 75% over the year before. 
Meanwhile, the …

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https://theloadstar.com/danaos-profits-and-recharters-on-the-up-as-liner-purple-patch-continues/

Zim agrees long-term charters for ten LNG boxships for alliance loop

Israeli carrier Zim has agreed 12-year charters with non-operating containership owner Seaspan for ten 15,000 teu LNG-fuelled vessels. 
The ships will be constructed at the South Korean yard of Samsung Heavy Industries, which will commence deliveries in the first half of 2023. 
Zim said the vessels would be deployed on the Asia-US east coast trade, where it has a vessel-sharing agreement with the 2M Alliance. 
President and chief executive Eli Glickman said the deal represented “a …

The post Zim...

https://theloadstar.com/zim-agrees-long-term-charters-for-ten-lng-boxships-for-alliance-loop/

XSTAFF and CULines team up for DIY shipment of Asia-Europe boxes

Intra-Asia carrier China United Lines (CULines) and Dusseldorf-based international purchasing association XSTAFF have teamed up to operate the sub-panamax 2,702 teu Laila (pictured above) on a one–way voyage from China to North Europe. 
And the two companies are already planning a second voyage after space on the Laila was fully booked “just a few days” after being offered. 
Formed in 2016, by the Swiss COOP group and the Belgian Colruyt group, the XSTAFF network was expanded in 2019 with …

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https://theloadstar.com/xstaff-and-culines-team-up-for-diy-shipment-of-asia-europe-boxes/

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