Shipowners hike rates for Gulf of Aden transit

Lloyd's List reports that shipowners prepared to risk Gulf of Aden transits are negotiating “crazy” rates,
as charterers report rising difficulties finding bulk carriers willing to take cargoes through pirate-infested shipping routes.

Bulk carriers fixed for these journeys in May have secured rates almost double those expected in the spot market for their size and condition.

“It’s crazy money if you think about it,” a dry cargo spokesman from London broker Galbraith’s, Imad El Kahi, said.

Mr Kahi said it reflected the “hot” Black Sea market and shorter journey.

It was harder to find an owner prepared to accept voyages that would take the ship through the Suez canal and the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates are known to operate.

Negotiations have also broken down more frequently between owners and charterers as they disagree when implementing piracy-related clauses, he said.

This week Emirates Maritime secured a spot rate of US$35,000 per day for its 2007-built supramax bulk carrier Dubai Galactic for a journey from the Black Sea to Japan via the Suez canal and the Gulf of Aden.

Somali pirates have hijacked 29 vessels in 2009, including six bulk carriers.

Ship operators said more owners were inserting clauses which precluded voyages on major shipping routes where pirates could attack, including on iron ore and grains trading lanes from Black Sea ports to China.

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