Baltic-UKC Clean Handysize freight rates at 7-month high on thin position list

The cost of sending 30,000 mt clean product cargoes from the Baltic Sea to the UK Continent has risen to the highest in over seven months, according to Platts data.

Freight rates on the route were assessed up Worldscale 10 at w175 Monday.

This equates to $15.26/mt, the highest since an identical $15.26/mt assessment on March 5.

Sources have attributed rising rates to an extremely tight position list in the Baltic Sea, with few vessels available for the first 10 days of November.

“I think the charterers are now trying to keep their cargoes as private as possible, it is very tight for tonnage until November 10 in the Baltic,” said a UK Continent-based shipbroker.

The main fixture of the day on Monday involved Sibur, which was heard to have taken the CPO Italy to take a naphtha cargo from Ust Luga to the UKC at w175 with loading set for November 3.

The market was also extremely tight for the smaller Flexisize vessels, with rates on the Cross-UK Continent route, basis 22,000 mt, assessed w10 higher at w185. This is the highest since April 28 when rates were also at w185. Clearlake was reported to have taken the Seaturbot vessel at w185 for a Klaipeda-UKC run loading November 5.
Source: Platts