Perhaps fortunately for them, transatlantic trade both to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean has picked up, primarily with chemicals, although we have seen more vegetable oils and even small parcels of clean petroleum products being fixed. Rates have firmed on this route, with 5,000 ton cargoes from Houston to Rotterdam fetching close to $50 per metric ton, and some owners calling for numbers in the mid $50s/t.

Rates have crept upwards by just a dollar or so for cargoes from the U.S. Gulf to Brazil, but are largely unchanged into the Caribbean.

Several large base oil cargoes have been fixed from the U.S. Gulf to the west coast of India, but they still cannot match the rates that are being done by clean-petroleum ships for the large caustic cargoes shipping on this route. U.S. Gulf-to-Far East is fairly active with aromatics and styrene cargoes, but not all the cargoes firm up, which means that right now owners are willing to discount for August loading. It is possible to fix 5,000 tons of chemicals from Houston to scheduled principal ports in the Far East for mid-to-high $50s/t, but it is best not to hold off too long since some owners are beginning to raise their ideas to $70/t, sensing that the market will tighten.

Europe
There was a small jump in the amount of European business quoted this week which coincided with end-of-month contract nominations and which caused some freights to rise fractionally. Overall however, intra-European business is not that healthy, and with so many ships around it is likely that freights will remain weak over the summer.

Turkey continues to import base oils, with freights from the Black Sea pegged at around $20/t for 3,000 ton cargoes. The same cargo from the western Mediterranean would cost around $35/t and about $65/t from Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam.

Transatlantic westbound trades are a bit busier. July space has been very scarce with owners quoting 4,000 ton lots from Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam to Houston in the low-to-mid $40s/t, although as the choice of tonnage widens in August so too the rates return to the $30s/t.

Europe-to-India has been busy with plenty of chemicals, acids, vegetable oils and base oils. Rates have firmed, and we have heard of levels close to $100/t again for base oil cargoes from the Black Sea and Baltic. The trade lane to China and the Far East has gone a bit quieter, but owners continue to quote high $80s/t for 5,000 ton lots from Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam to China.

Asia
Palm oil markets are slightly busier regionally with more enquiries being seen to China, in addition to the steady flow of material to India, Europe and the United States. More biodiesel cargoes have been sourced from Southeast Asia too with traders looking to ship both to Europe and the United States.

One by one, the number of prompt ships is being reduced, especially of those vessels that normally trade in the West and want to return. Freight levels seem to have bottomed out too on routes out of India and the Middle East Gulf, with even one or two faint increases noted.

All the same, there are still ships willing to take a completion cargo of base oils from Iran to the Mediterranean, for which the cost would be around $55/t for 3,000 tons to Turkey.

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.