Shipowners make $ 100,000 a day in containerships

Of George Georgiou

Charters with daily profits that “stun” continue and are secured by Greek shipowners with a fleet of container vessels, taking advantage of high market demand.

Most types of containerships are “sold out” at the moment and all ships that leave charter are closed immediately under new agreements. In fact, since the new tonnage is hard to find, market prices have gone up.

A typical example are two deals that Dimitris Papadimitriou’s Dioryx Maritime is said to have “sealed” recently. According to shipping broker Banchero Costa, the “Maliakos” (with a capacity of 4,398 TEUs and built in 2012) was chartered for three months, for $ 125,000 a day.

Last week, Banchero analysts linked Dioryx to a “Ionikos” deal (with a capacity of 4,360 TEUs and built in 2009) that includes a 3-4 month trip, priced at $ 90,000 a day.

However, the shipping company does not only select short-term agreements for the employment of the fleet. Earlier in the year, it reportedly secured charters of more than three years for five of its ships, earning $ 50,000 a day.

The Equasis data platform locates seven container vessels in the Dioryx Maritime fleet.

The course of fares

Ship brokers and analysts point out, however, that fares in the market have peaked and will follow a slight downward trend in the near future. In fact, at the level of time charters, a decline in all sizes is already recorded.

In particular, according to VHBS (Hamburg and Bremen Shipbrokers’ Association), one-year charters in containerships with a capacity of 4,250 TEUs were at $ 88,000 per day on November 12, while a week earlier they exceeded $ 92,000 (5.2% per week). ).

Reduced by 8.9% on a weekly basis are the fares in one-year agreements for containerships, with a capacity of 2,500 TEUs. Of course, the decline is insignificant so far, if one considers that compared to last year, one-year charters record increases of more than 300% in all ship sizes.

In the spot market, the cost of transporting a 40-foot (ft) container from China to the West Coast of North America reached $ 13,924 on November 12, up from $ 18,730 on November 5 (down 25.7%), according to the index. Freightos. However, it remains increased by 262% compared to last year.

At the same time, data from Drewry show that from Shanghai to Genoa, transportation costs reached $ 12,438 on November 11, compared to $ 12,693 a week earlier and $ 13,123 on October 28.

Nevertheless, there are some – few – routes, in which increases are recorded. For example, from Rotterdam to New York, shipping a container is valued at $ 6,255, up 2% from $ 6,123 on November 4.

“In the second half of October and the beginning of November, specific indicators that record the market data, fell from the high levels of the previous period”, commented yesterday, in the context of the results of the third quarter of Euroseas, the head of the company, Aristidis Pittas.

“However, it is doubtful whether this indicates a tonnage release or a lack of trade, as most ships are busy,” he added. However, he estimates that the market is temporarily taking a “breath”, in view of the festive season.

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– Greek ships are targeted by large charterers