+380 67 625 91 65Activity in the Black Sea showed a relative slowdown in trade. Many vessels expressed willingness to reduce tariffs in order to transact before the long Uraza Bayram holidays in Turkey and MENA countries. One such vessel, the Panama-flagged T Mare, docked at the port of Greater Odessa on April 3. This is the first vessel with containers that has passed through the Ukrainian sea corridor since the beginning of the conflict. It should be noted that T-Mare belongs to the class of vessels for the transportation of general cargo, not container ships. Its function is to carry out feeder transportation of containers to foreign hubs for subsequent loading on ocean container ships.
The market is also witnessing tighter control over obtaining permits for agricultural exports from Ukraine, which is slowing down the main cargo flow in the region. Transportation tariffs from Ukraine decreased by $1–3 per tonne during the week, and from other Black Sea and Mediterranean ports – by $0.5 per tonne.
The Mediterranean coastal transportation market remained inactive this week. The number of new cargo offers has remained modest, although the tonnage list has slightly decreased. Shipowners kept rates stable, but some deals were concluded slightly below previous levels. This is due to some shipowners’ attempts to find work for holiday weekends in Mediterranean countries.
Rates in the Azov Sea region remain stable, despite the expectations of many Charterers to return to growth after some drops at the end of the previous week. Contracts for the transportation of 3000 tons of wheat from Azov to Marmara Seaports are concluded at $42 per ton. Rates in the Azov Sea region are expected to continue rising due to a lack of vessels.
