Shipping report: Activity slackens

29 July 2002 00:00  [Source: ACN]

Shipowners are asking for a freight rate of $120/tonne for moving 4000 tonne of propylene from South Africa to Singapore, a route off the beaten path for C3s

Propylene: Very tight spot availability in Asia restricted shipping activity. A trader reported booking vessel space for 3000 tonne from Malaysia to the Philippines at US$50/tonne.

Traders were attempting to settle business for deep-sea cargoes. Shipowners reported receiving an enquiry for moving 4000 tonne of C3 from Richards Bay, South Africa, in mid-August to Singapore. As this is not a usual route for propylene business, the freight rate was quoted at around US$120/tonne. Enquiries were also heard for bringing C3 from the US. Shipowners were looking for a freight rate of around US$140/tonne.

Liquids

NEA intratrade: Weak demand for vessel space caused freight rates to slip by US$2-3/tonne from June. But shipowners said enquiries were brisk for August.

A trader moved 2000 tonne of monoethylene glycol (MEG) from South Korea to southern China in mid-July in the high US$20s/tonne.

Another 1000 tonne fixture to southern China from Taiwan was settled at US$16- 17/tonne.

Shipowners said there was hardly any movement of spot cargoes out of Japan in July.

NEA to SEA: Freight rates generally held steady from June, although demand for vessel space was slack on some routes.

A 4000 tonne parcel of easy chemicals from South Korea to Thailand was settled in the low US$20s/tonne, down from the high US$20s/tonne in June.

Several cargoes of BTX from South Korea were shipped to Malaysia and Indonesia at US$15-16/tonne.

A South Korean paraxylene (PX) producer also shipped 1000 tonne in mid-July to the Philippines in the low US$40s/tonne.

SEA to NEA: Contract cargoes dominated shipping activity in July.

A 2000-3000 tonne fixture of styrene from Singapore to Dalian in northern China was settled in the high US$20s/tonne, unchanged from June.

The freight rate from Malaysia to northern China was also in the same range, with a 6000 tonne cargo of MEG shipped in mid-July in the high US$20s/tonne.

Charterers said freight rates from SEA to southern China had fallen from the mid-US$20s/tonne to the low US$20s/tonne due to weak demand for vessel space.

SEA intratrade: Shipowners said spot fixtures were limited in July. Enquiries for vessel space were also scarce.

The freight rate for 4000 tonne of BTX from Thailand to Singapore was settled in the low US$20s/tonne, unchanged from June levels.

On shipments from Singapore to Thailand, a 2000 tonne fixture of easy chemicals was settled at US$19-20/tonne, the same as June freight rates.

Europe from/to Asia: Freight rates held steady from June despite abundant vessel space and weak demand.

Tight PX supply in Asia saw some movement of cargoes from Europe for discharge in Asia in late June and July, but shipping traffic was otherwise quiet.

Freight rates from Europe to Asia were reported to be betweenthe high US$60s/ tonne and the low US$70s/tonne, although some charterers also reported moving cargoes, each of 3000-5000 tonne, in the high US$50s/tonne.

On the Asia-Europe route, there was little activity, with shipowners reporting very few enquiries for vessel space.

There were unconfirmed reports that a trader had moved 5000 tonne of BTX from South Korea to NWE in mid-July at US$50- 55/tonne.

However, shipowners said this was too low. Previous fixtures on this route in June were in US$68-72/tonne.

US to Asia: Freight rates remained steady although vessel space was abundant.

A 5000 tonne parcel of easy chemicals from the US Gulf Coast (USGC) to South Korea was decided at around US$40/tonne.

Several cargoes of BTX of about 5000 tonne were moved from South Korea to the USGC at US$35-40/tonne. Similar fixtures from South Korea to the US West Coast were settled at US$30-35/tonne.

Gases

Ethylene: Enquiries picked up last week with shipowners reporting increased interest in moving material out of NEA and SEA.

A July shipment of 3300 tonne from Thailand to Taiwan was agreed in the mid-US$60s/tonne.

The freight rate for 4500 tonne from Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, to SEA was at US$80/ tonne.

A second cargo for shipment in August was also settled at the same freight rate.

But a 4000 tonne July loading cargo from the Arabian Gulf (AG) to SEA was settled lower at US$70/tonne.

Brokers and shipowners said the freight rate was lower because the ship had been idle for nearly 25 days.

The freight rates for 3300 tonne cargoes out of Singapore to Indonesia were quoted at US$32-33/tonne.

The freight rate for a similar cargo from Kerteh, Malaysia, was quoted US$5/tonne higher.

Shipowners were looking to raise freight rates in August following the improvement in C2 spot prices which have climbed by around US$50/tonne in the last few weeks.

Butadiene: Limited supplies of butadiene in Asia kept spot shipping markets quiet. Traders were attempting to procure material from Europe but no business had been settled at press time.

A trader was trying to secure vessel space to ship crude C4s from Indonesia to Houston, US, at US$100/tonne.

Vinyl chloride monomer: No spot shipments could be traced. Shipowners said market activity was lacklustre with ships busy carrying contract cargoes.

Ammonia: Shipping activity was subdued in July mainly due to low product demand and prices.

A shipowner believed that freight rates, which were under downward pressure earlier in the month, have hit the bottom. However, not many enquiries for August were reported last week.

A 20 000 tonne fixture from the AG to Taiwan was agreed in the high US$30s/tonne. The freight rate for moving 10000 tonne from Indonesia to Thailand was US$35/ tonne.

A 14 000 tonne cargo from the AG to two ports on the west coast of India was settled at US$27/tonne.

A trader was in the market to secure vessel space for a 15-20 000 tonne cargo to be moved to Taiwan from Indonesia in mid-August.

Chemical shipping rates - US$/tonne

Product	Route	Rate range	Tonnage	Lifting
Liquids
MEG	South Korea/China	high 20s	2000	July
Easy chemicals	South Korea/Thailand	low 20s	4000	July
Styrene	Singapore/China	high 20s	2000	July
BTX	Thailand/Singapore	low 20s	4000	July
PX	NWE/South Korea	high 60s	5000	July
Easy chemicals	US Gulf/South Korea	40	5000	July
BTX	South Korea/US West Coast	30-35	5000	July
Gases
Ethylene	Thailand/Taiwan	mid-60s	3300	July
Ethylene	Abu Dhabi/SEA	80	4500	July
Ethylene	Abu Dhabi/SEA	80	4500	August
Propylene	Malaysia/Philippines	50	4000	July
Ammonia	Arabian Gulf/Taiwan	high 30s	20 000	July
Ammonia	Indonesia/Thailand	35	10 000	July

The freight rates contained in this report are obtained by the ACN team through consultation with shippers, shipbrokers and charterers. They are a guide to recently agreed shipping rates. Chemicals requiring stainless stell tanks will be charges a premium.

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