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Super post-panamax container vessels continue to make headway in the charter market. All other classes are facing increased pressure now that the holidays are upon us.
The container ship charter market remains flat with a steady or slightly softer tendency for rates as the quieter holiday[ds_preview] period kicked in, with only the largest tramp vessels achieving noticeable gains. 8,500TEU class vessels recorded a rise in spot charter rates of around 8% over the past month as short term availability in this class almost evaporated, according to chartering brokers. Latest benchmarks were set by Hapag-Lloyd’s fixtures of the 8,238TEU »Conti Everest« at 10,000$/day for 8–10 months in the Far East and the 8,814 TEU »Northern Jade« (in direct continuation) at 12,000 $/day for 9–11 months (between Northern Europe and the US Gulf). The firmer trend in the top size class appears to be the result of peak season demand and the ongoing upgrading of trans-Panama services from conventional panamax to conventional »post-panamax« vessels. Especially the CKYHE and G6 alliances have substituted numerous ships of 6,500 up to 10,000TEU for traditional panamaxes, thus generating extra demand in these sizes. The upward trend in fixing levels for ships in excess of 7,500TEU is expected to continue, albeit at a moderate pace because many liner-controlled ships are still in lay-up. 5,500TEU and 6,500TEU vessels are also benefiting from improved demand and tightening availability. However, market rates have increased only marginally so far, with Maersk Broker marking its assessment for average rates between 5,500 and 6,999TEU up from 6,283 to 6,450$/day in early July. Maersk itself reportedly took the 6,350TEU »Hyundai New York« for a brief 5–10 day intra-Asia trip at 6,650$/day.

Meanwhile the bulk of the market – for ships from traditional panamax (4,000–5,100TEU) down to the smallest feeders – continues to suffer. Fixing activity fell by more than 30% during June and has remained muted so far, resulting in a 0.9% drop in the New ConTex month-on-month. Oversupply in the panamax segment was reaching a new high already at the end of June when Alphaliner counted 72 vessels between 3,000 and 5,099TEU as idle. Most panamaxes still seem to be fixing at rates between 5,000 and 5,500$/day but growing competition has seen the first units accepting levels slightly below 5,000$/day. Adding to the head winds for shipowners are charter restructurings agreed between distressed liner HMM and its tonnage providers who are facing 20% reductions on period rates in return for shares in the carrier or for an unsecured loan at 3.0% interest per annum.

Activity in the sub-panamax (2,500–2,800TEU) and the midsize/handy segments (1,600–1,800TEU) has been muted and quite changeable. Rate levels kept moving sideways, with only some positional gains for modern eco-types such as gearless 1,700TEU types in the Med/Atlantic. Of note, Boluda fixed »Nordcheetah« and »Nordluchs« at 10,500$/day for 11–13 months for the Spain/Canary Islands trade. Feeder ships of 1,100TEU capacity are faced with a notable lack of demand, with rate levels for ice-class tonnage in the north continent/Baltic market adjusting down by a few hundred dollars recently and 700TEU ships in Asia recording reduced levels of around 5,000$/day for shortened periods.
Michael Hollmann