Dry bulk ships on the rebound

Positive signs of an early recovery by the dry bulk shipping sector are being noted, says the Hellenic Shipping News in its latest edition.The journal says that optimism appears to be returning following the sharpest rate fall in its history. It reports that on Tuesday this week the Dry Bulk Index (DBI) which tracks the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore and coal, reached 911 points, up by 22 since the previous session.This is the highest point reached since October 2008, giving the owners of capesize vessels something to smile about.It quotes the average time charter for a capesize as being $15,235, an improvement by $1,105 against the previous day. “This level is even enough for some ships to return some modest profits to their owners, for the first time in months.”It’s not so rosy for the rest of the market however, with the Panamax Index posting another fall by nine points to end at 520 points, a level that produces an average time charter rate of $4,136, lower than the $4,208 earned by the supramaxes. Handysize activity has remained stalled for days, the article states, and stands now at 270 points and an average daily time charter of just $3,976.