News of the freight market as of 04.05.2026

In the Black Sea, the freight market remains under pressure due to the persistent shortage of firm cargo offers and weak trading activity. Shippers are increasingly testing the market with lower ideas, as the list of open tonnage is gradually growing and creating additional competition among shipowners. The most noticeable decline is seen in shipments from Ukrainian ports, where the availability of return cargoes leads to an accumulation of vessels without the need for a ballast passage. Shipowners are still trying to hold rates, relying on rising bunker costs, but this argument no longer offsets the weakness of the cargo base. Individual lots of grain, meal, steel, coal and fertilisers continue to appear, but they do not form a stable flow that could reverse the market. The situation remains uneven: on some routes rates are holding better due to the specifics of cargo, timing and loading conditions, but the overall balance is shifting in favour of shippers. In the near term, a further moderate decline in Black Sea freight is likely if the flow of firm orders does not recover and tonnage supply continues to grow.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the coaster market looks sluggish, as the number of new cargo offers remains minimal and shippers show no willingness to fix deals actively. Despite a certain reduction in the list of open vessels, the overall cargo base remains weak and does not give shipowners full support. Shippers continue to insist on lower rates, but many of these ideas are indicative, as there are few real spot deals. Shipowners are trying to hold previous levels on the argument of high bunker costs, but fundamentally the market remains weak. Activity persists for individual lots of fertilisers, minerals, steel and agricultural products, but it does not change the overall picture of low cargo flow. Additional uncertainty is created by the wide spread of rates on similar routes, where the final level depends heavily on the cargo, the shipper and loading dates. In the near term, weak sideways dynamics are most likely to persist in the Mediterranean, with a risk of further pressure on freight in the absence of new stable cargo programmes.

In the Sea of Azov, freight continues to decline amid insufficient demand for old-crop grain and a seasonal reduction in shipper activity. The main pressure factor is a lack of grain offers combined with a simultaneous increase in the available river-sea fleet. Shorter waiting times in the Kerch Strait have accelerated vessel turnover and increased the tonnage surplus on the market. Shippers are confidently pushing rates down, as shipowners face a limited choice of real cargoes and have to compete for fixtures. Additional pressure comes from weak interest from grain buyers, while river shipments have not yet entered an active phase, despite emerging signs of growing cargo flows from certain inland routes. Zero export duties on major grain crops have not yet led to a rapid revival in deals, so their supportive effect on freight remains limited. In the short term, the downward trend in Azov freight is likely to persist unless demand for grain shipments recovers faster than the supply of available tonnage grows.