In the ports of Great Odesa, the offer of “handy sizes” is higher than “coasters”

Due to military risks, weather and power outages, the number of vessels ready to call at Ukrainian deep-water ports remains limited.

In mid-February, the Ukrainian freight market is showing stability, but charterers continue to find it difficult to dictate terms due to the shortage of vessels ready to call at Ukrainian deep-water ports. ASAP Agri reports.  

The situation is influenced by military risks, adverse weather, as well as disruptions in port operations due to power outages.

At the same time, the offer of tonnage of “handysizes” currently looks somewhat better than in the segment of “coasters” suitable for voyages from deep-water ports. In some cases, this gives charterers the opportunity to put pressure on rates in the “handysize” segment.

According to the freight department of Atria Brokers, the transportation of 30 thousand tons of corn from Ukrainian deep-water ports to the east coast of Italy currently costs about $25/t, which is slightly lower than $25–26/t a week earlier.

In the “fire” segment, rates for the direction to the east coast of Italy remain unchanged — $37–39/t.

Also, as USM recently wrote, the volume of agricultural exports from ports has decreased by 20% from the maximum indicators — partly due to shelling, partly due to delayed harvesting due to weather conditions.