Bulk Carrier News

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which measures shipping rates for vessels transporting dry bulk commodities, recorded its fourth consecutive weekly decline on Friday, dragged down by losses across all vessel segments for the week.The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 4 points to 1,051 points on Friday, its lowest since late July 2023. The index was down about 10% for the week.The panamax index fell 26 points to 995 points. The index also posted a weekly loss.

Dry bulk contracting falls 70% below average amid low rates.“Over the past three months, dry bulk newbuilding contracting has been 70% below the yearly average. Declining freight rates in recent months, a cloudy outlook and high newbuilding prices contributed to the slowdown, and contracting in 2024 will likely fall short of 2023 levels,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Driven by healthy demand, the dry bulk market was strong throughout most of the first three quarters of 2024.

Thordon Bearings has delivered COMPAC water-lubricated propeller shaft and SXL rudder bearings to replace oil- and grease- lubricated bearings onboard McKeil Marine’s bulk carrier Northern Venture as part of a major refurbishment project.Established in 1956, Canada-based McKeil Marine provides marine transportation along the St. Lawrence Seaway, the East Coast, and Canadian Arctic with its diversified fleet of tugs, barges, workboats and vessels, including bunkers, cement carriers, and tankers.The shipowner acquired the 155m (508.5ft), 19,651dwt Northern Venture in 2022.

The Lake Carriers' Association (LCA) on Wednesday reported that shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled nearly 3 million tons in November, a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos were a mere 8,340 tons below the month’s 5-year average.Loadings from U.S. quarries decreased 4.5 percent from 2023 to 2.5 million tons. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 498,801 tons, a decrease of 7.1 percent.Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 27.1 million tons, a decrease of 1.1 percent compared to a year ago.

“Between January and November 2024, Russian seaborne dry bulk exports have decreased 5% y/y, driven by a 10% y/y decrease in coal shipments. The price competitiveness of Russian coal has deteriorated, compared to Mongolian, Indonesian and Australian cargoes, and a gradual increase in exports over land to China has also contributed to this decline,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.So far this year, wheat and fertilizer shipments from Russia rose 6% and 7% y/y respectively.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published its investigation report into the mooring deck accident on the bulk carrier Mona Manx that resulted in one death.The incident occurred on August 26, 2021. The second officer (2/O) of the Isle of Man registered bulk carrier Mona Manx was fatally injured when he was struck by a recoiling mooring line while the vessel was berthing at Puerto Ventanas, Chile. The line had become entrapped between the vessel and the berth, probably in way of a fender…

“The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has recovered since the start of November due to stronger capesize freight rates, but the index is still down 10% y/y. The capesize market has benefited from a 1% increase in shipments so far in November compared to October 2024 and November 2023. However, the increase has not been enough to recover to the highs seen during the first three quarters of 2024,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.On  November 19, 2024, the BDI reached 1,627 points, up from 1,374 on 4 November.

A bulk carrier came within 200 m of grounding in the Great Barrier Reef after a GPS unit onboard the ship began providing false information to the pilot and crew on board, an ATSB final report details.The near grounding occurred early on the morning of May 4, 2022, when the 225m bulk carrier Rosco Poplar was transiting Hydrographers Passage under the conduct of a coastal pilot.Unknown to the pilot and crew, one of the ship’s three GPS units began outputting incorrect positional data during the early stages of the pilotage…

Kongsberg Maritime has unveiled a new 'Super-Efficient Bulker' vessel design concept.Designed with Deltamarin, the vessel promises fuel cost savings between 40-50% depending on the operational profile.Kongsberg Maritime selected a Kamsarmax bulker of 82,000 DWT, a common vessel size globally, as the basis for the new design. The Kamsarmax represents a versatile choice as this vessel type often faces restrictions with the global availability of low-carbon fuels, making it an ideal…

Ukrainian agricultural group Kernel has expanded its sea fleet and can now export 100,000 metric tons of grain per month by ship, it said on Thursday.Ukraine usually exports 95% of its farm exports via Black Sea ports and Ukraine's own ships can ensure exports even in the face of military dangers associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Kernel, the leading Ukrainian sunoil exporter, has purchased the Rotterdam Pearl V vessel, which can transport 50,000 tons of grain, it posted on Facebook.The company said its fleet had been transporting Ukrainian exports to the Mediterranean and North-East