Lack of space is also felt on routes into Venezuela and the west coast of Central America, where all the scheduled carriers are full for February.

Transatlantic eastbound remains busy, mostly with ethanol requirements. Scheduled space is tight, but there are several ships coming open in the U.S. Gulf later in February that may end up going on berth. For this reason we believe rates of high $40s/t are still achievable for 5,000 ton cargoes from Houston to Rotterdam.

Numbers into Asia are probably unchanged too. There have been plenty of benzene/toluene/xylene enquiries, but few have actually materialised. U.S. Gulf-to-India is generally stable.

Europe
It has been another active week in Europe. More chemical cargoes have come to the surface, with prompt requirements generally harder to fix than ones later in the month. Clean petroleum traders are not pushing so hard for space this week, at least in the North Sea.

Cargoes down from the Baltic have become harder to fix due to the ice situation and the ensuing delays that occur. From Riga to northern Germany, 6,000 tons of naphtha paid $217,000, for example, a level that far exceeds the usual rates paid for equivalent base oils from the Baltic.

The Mediterranean too is much more active, and apart from a handful of ship owners who have yet to realise that the market has tightened, most owners are looking to raise rates.

Westbound transatlantic is slightly more subdued, with the frenzy of benzene shipments tailing off. All the same, space is scarce, partly through stronger contractual nominations, meaning that freights have continued to move upwards. For example, 7,000 tons of chemicals from Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam to Savannah paid $43 to $44/t, an increase of some $4 to $5/t.

Europe-to-Asia is not exactly busy, but there are quite a few requirements quoted around, and contractual volumes are building. A cargo of 5,000 tons of base oils from Rotterdam to principal ports in the Far East should however find room at around $75/t. There are a variety of ships offering part cargo space to India from now through to end March, which should ensure levels of around $70/t for 5,000 tons from Rotterdam to Mumbai.

Asia
The week has been a busy one within Asia, with bonus export cargoes showing up too. Naturally, this will not last long and new possibilities are only likely to be explored after the lunar holidays at the end of the week. All the same, trades have been brisk in most directions. Benzene and sulphuric acid are the main goods to the Americas, with biodiesel, pyrolysis gasoline, acetates and special grades of acid such as nitric and acetic acid to Europe.

Levels are stable to both Europe and the U.S., and there are several ships with part-space open to the U.S. Gulf which will anchor rates where they are currently. From Korea to the U.S. Gulf, 5,000 tons of base oils should fetch a figure of around $53/t.

Several ships can offer open space from Korea to the west coast of India and the Middle East Gulf, but the same cannot be said from the Middle East Gulf to the Far East. Here, the market has come alive with aromatics, glycols and methanol, and most contractual sailings are utilising the maximum amount of space. Consequently, spot rates from the Middle East Gulf to the Far East, and also to Europe, are rising. A 4,000 ton base oils shipment from Iran to the eastern Mediterranean could now cost over $70/t for example.

Adrian Brown is senior market analyst for chemicals and base oils with SSY Shipbrokers, London. Information about SSY can be found at www.ssyonline.com. Adrian Brown, in the U.K., can be reached directly at research@ssy.co.uk or by phone at +44 1207-507507. In the U.S., SSYs Steve Rosenthal can be reached at fix@ssychems.com or +1 203-961-1566.