The Baumarine by MaruKlav panamax bulker pool says it has beaten the Baltic Exchange benchmark in the second quarter, and rates are continuing to accelerate.
The joint venture owned by Norwegian owner Torvald Klaveness and Japan’s Marubeni Corp said earnings in June were $27,800 per day on average.
This meant the pool outperformed the Baltic’s P5TC figure by more than $500 per day over the quarter.
The forecast for July is showing rates of $25,850 per day, which is $1,350 better than the benchmark, Baumarine said.
For the third quarter as a whole, earnings are outstripping the Baltic mark by $1,800 per day.
Ignacio Pizarro, global head of partner relations, said: “Our option to convert spot to fixed earnings at the market peaks is becoming more popular.”
He added that in the first half of this year, the pool delivered additional earnings upside for some members worth $1.16m, or $3,882 per day.
“In this current backwardation and low markets, spot vessels with prompt opening dates that join our larger fleet for worldwide trade, coverage and earnings are getting a greater upside,” Pizzaro said.
The head of dry bulk, Michael Jorgensen, said: “With current uncertainties in the market, it is key that we continue to discuss earnings potential and portfolio with each of our partners.
“Taking the right decision on when to go with the floating structure and when to convert to fixed rate will add significant value over and above standard trading.”
Data important
The pool remains focused on keeping the fleet employed at targeted duration and direction in strategic areas, leveraging what it calls increasingly accurate machine learning predictions, optimisation algorithms, trade flow data and AIS insight models.
In May, the pool revealed a big extra payout for a Japanese ship that exceeded stated speed and fuel consumption levels.
In the first quarter, pool member Mizuho Sangyo banked an extra $94,563 for the 75,400-dwt Coral Ring (built 2006), which equates to a further $1,383 per day.
The bulker overperformed by 7% on the level of speed/fuel consumption initially guaranteed by the owner when it joined the pool in January.
The panamax pool has a fleet of about 30 ships spread across the world and is actively using the forward freight market to lock in margins and adjust its position towards market movements.
