Baltic-UKC handysize fuel oil freight rates fall on little cargo movement
Spot freight rates for dirty handysize residual fuel oil tankers plying the Baltic to UK Continent routes fell sharply Monday on sluggish trading prompted by winter holidays in Russia and light cargo movements, shipping sources said, Platts reports.
The Worldscale rate for a 30,000-mt fuel oil tanker for the Baltic-UKC was assessed by Platts Monday at w150, down from w175 Friday.
According to sources, Shell has fixed a vessel from Gothenburg to Rotterdam at w147 while BP had another vessel on subjects from Vysotsk to UKC at w150.
Sources at BP and Shell could not be reached for comment.
Despite some expectations that the ice build up would support the handysize market in the Baltic, reduced cargo movement continued to put pressure on freight rates, sources said.
"I am not 100 percent convinced that 150 from ice ports [will be the market rate], but obviously we don't have enough cargoes to keep the fleet going at the moment," a shipping source said.
Another shipbroker attributed the large drop in rates to "less activity" from the Baltic to Northwest European ports in January, adding that charterers would not stem below w150.
