Newbuilding demand maintained momentum through April, particularly in the supramax and handysize segments, as buyers jostled to place low cost orders. Japanese builders have secured enough contracts to maintain production to the end of 2015 and in many cases 2016, allowing them sufficient breathing space to increase prices as they moved into the new fiscal year. As a result interest has shifted to top tier yards in China who have managed to cover their positions for 2014 and FH 2015 allowing t...

Further evidence that the container trades are under severe pressure on key routes came with publication of the latest World Container Index, which has lost further ground over the past week as rates from Asia to both Europe and the US declined. Rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam have fallen by $74 per feu in the last seven days to $1,631, having been at more than $2,100 a month earlier. They are now at the lowest level for a year, with rates rallying sharply in April 2012 as all lines took co...

Despite the fact that the dry bulk market remains heavily oversupplied and just as the orderbook of newbuildings had began to shrink, it seems that ship owners have made a significant come back to shipyards, investing once more in new orders.   This has been the case so far in 2013 and one could become perplexed as to why owerns are choosing this path, instead of doiong everything in their power to alleviate the tonnage supply pressures currently underway in the freight rate market? E...

Despite fleet over-supply, post-panamax containerships appears to see a continued orders. According to shipbroker Braemar Seascope, during the first quarter of 2013, overall around 30 large containerships of a combined 270,000 teu were ordered, which expanded by six times against a year ago. Orders for ultra-large boxship are placed successively; early this year, Canadian shipowner, Seaspan booked five 14,000-teu and four 10,000-teu at Hyundai Heavy Industries of Korea and China’s Yangzijiang ...