Index change reflects shift in charter market to bigger boxships

Several large containerships have been fixed at firm rates as the profile of the charter market shifts to bigger vessels.

Recent fixtures include the Zeaborn-managed, 5,992-teu ER Kobe (built 2001), which is understood to have been taken by Israeli liner operator Zim for 12 months at $19,000 per day.

Until this week, such fixtures would not have been reflected in the New ConTex Index, a leading measure of charter rates produced by a panel of 16 containership ­brokers and published by the Hamburg and Bremen Shipbrokers’ Association (VHBS).