+380 67 625 91 65There is extremely low activity on the market of small tonnage transportation in the Black Sea. Over the last two weeks the number of available vessels in the Black, Marmara and Mediterranean Seas has decreased by 20-25%, dropping from 400 to 320 units with a capacity of 2-12 thousand deadweight tons. River-sea transportation costs remain in line with operating costs, with no significant changes over the last week. Demand for main cargoes continues to be minimal. Rates for grain shipments from the Black Sea remain at low levels: transportation of 10,000 tons of corn from Pivdenoi to Egypt is $22-23 per ton. Carriage of 7-8,000 tons of wheat from Izmail to Spain is offered at $29 per ton, which barely covers operating costs.
Activity in the small-capacity segment in the Mediterranean also remains low. Freight rates continue to decline, falling by $0.5-1.5 per tonne over the past week. Demand for Russian and Turkish square billets, coils and rebar is minimal, putting additional pressure on rates. Transportation of 5,000 tons of steel from Nemrut to the southern Adriatic port costs $18-19 per ton. A contract for the transportation of 4,000 tons of scrap metal from Šibenik to Nemrut was concluded at a rate of $110,000 per voyage.
The small-capacity shipping market in the Sea of Azov remains low due to holidays in Russia and weak demand for wheat and coal in Turkey. Rates for river-sea transportation have fallen another $2-3 per ton over the past week, approaching the level of operating costs. Rates for transporting 3,000 tons of wheat from Rostov/Azov to the Sea of Marmara have dropped to below $30 per ton, with a few deals at $31-32 per ton. Some charters are offering as little as $26 per tonne for the transportation of 3,000 tons of wheat from Rostov to the Sea of Marmara, but shipowners are not yet accepting such low rates.
