Platts to launch new Australia-Vietnam Supramax voyage, TCE assessments Feb 1

• New Australia/Vietnam $/mt freight
• New Australia/Vietnam $/day freight

Following a period of market feedback, S&P Global Platts will start publishing three new dry bulk freight assessments for Supramax class ships to reflect increasing liquidity on the thermal coal route from east coast of Australia to Vietnam, effective Feb. 1, 2021.

The new assessments would be called PS33, PSTCE33L and PSTCE33. The new PS33 Supramax assessment reflects the freight rate on a dollar/mt basis for the Newcastle, east coast of Australia, to Campha, Vietnam, route basis 55,000 mt (plus/minus 10%) cargo size.

The new PSTCE33L basis bunker fuel 0.5%S and PSTCE33 basis scrubber fitted time charter equivalent assessments reflect $/d pricing derived from the respective voyage rate. The assessments reflect ships chartered for loading 10-25 days forward from the date of publication.

The assessments follow the Singapore publishing schedule time stamp at the Asian market close at 5:30 pm Singapore time (0930 GMT).

Platts first proposed launching the new dry bulk freight assessments in a subscriber note published Dec. 10, 2020: ( http://plts.co/cGAJ30rnUpC ).

The PSTCE33L time charter equivalent assessment will be calculated using the daily Shanghai Marine Fuel 0.5%S delivered bunker assessment, and the PSTCE33 TCE assessment will be calculated basis the daily Shanghai IFO 380 CST bunker fuel assessment published by Platts. The ship speed and consumption used in the TCE calculations are derived by extensive market survey and reflect market practice for ships using low sulfur and high sulfur bunker fuel.

Vietnam, one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, is expected to see its coal imports balloon to 55 million mt in 2020, up 22% from 45 million mt in 2019, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. Imports could increase further to 55.2 million mt in 2021, Platts Analytics added.

Vietnam's coal imports are expected to further rise to an estimated 80 million mt by 2025, according to Vietnamese energy company An Viet Phat Energy.

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