Turmoil in shipping as claims and arrests rise

At the height of the economic boom the going rate for charters of the largest bulk carriers (“Cape Size”) reached startling figures of up to 120,000 US dollars a day. The market downturn saw this plummet to as low as $3,000 a day. Although this rate has since risen (reportedly to the region of $20,000 a day) it is still a far cry from last year and players in the industry are hurting.
The result is that on a daily basis chartering companies are going to the wall or simply trying to redeliver (hand back) ships on charter to them, says Shepstone & Wylie’s Shane Dwyer, a partner in the International Transport, Trade and Energy Department and an expert in the shipping field.  He referred to a recent Lloyds List report which said arbitrators estimate that appointments have surged by as much as 25% since last year.