Toepfer Report: Availability of Ships for Charter is Extremely Tight

The new-building prices have reached a high level plateau. The available slots for MPP units are almost gone
and there are only limited opportunities to place orders for MPP tonnage. Most of the remaining slots are for
deliveries in 2024 or later and the very few opportunities for 2023 delivery require quick decision-making and
well established negotiation channels.

The time charter rate levels in all ship sizes keep on climbing and the availability is extremely tight. Meaning that the overall fixture activity is pretty low and many of the few charters fixtures are for forward positions with delivery in six to twelve months, and with long durations. One of the implications of these forward fixtures is, that some charterers do not know that they already have lost access to parts of their fleet prior to being able to even discuss an extension of the charter.

Due to the nature of the main cargo types, the MPP market is permanently affected by the performance of adjacent shipping segments, which have a strong direct impact on the supply/demand balance.

source: www.toepfer-transport.com

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