Sea-river owners increasingly have to make concessions discussing spot shipments in the Azov Sea given the shortage of new grain offers. The lack of firm offers is particularly acute, as most requests are voiced bss sub sale. Last week owners were able to get $15/t for transportation of 3,000 t of wheat from Rostov to Samsun, while many of them are now ready to work at $14/t on this route. Moreover, the deal for shipment of 3,000 t of wheat from Rostov to the Marmara Sea with late July laycans has been signed at mere $15/t. Bran exporters are ready to pay at best $15.5-16/t for transportation of 3,000 t of the cargo on the above route in late July. Market participants report that offers for 5-6k dwt vessels are now extremely rare. Charterers offer at best $15/t for shipment of 5,000 t of grain from Taganrog to the Marmara Sea. Coal offer is also looking modest. Thus, charterers are ready to pay $11/t for transportation of 5,000 t of coal from Yeisk to TBS with l/d rates of 2,000x/1,750x, while a similar cargo lot is offered for shipment from Rostov to TBS at $10.5/t. Transportation of 3-5,000 t of coal from Rostov to the eastern Mediterranean is discussed at $29-30/t.
As before, deals for later dates (early August) are discussed at slightly higher rates. Thus, traders are ready to pay $17-18/t for shipment of 3,000 t of wheat to the Marmara Sea in 1H August, while many owners are even seeking to get more than $19/t. Recall, however, that a similar situation was seen on the market both in early and mid-July; thus, deals with laycans in 2-3 weeks had been discussed a few dollars above spot contracts, but later, as those dates were getting spot, shipments were already quoted at significantly lower levels.