Agriculture, Maritime & Shipping, Grains, Dry Freight

July 04, 2025

Platts to amend one dry bulk implied freight assessment; launch a KMAX-9 derived Panamax dry bulk freight assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will amend one daily dry bulk implied freight assessment and launch an additional dry bulk Panamax freight assessment implied from the KMAX-9 index.

The proposal note for the assessment launch, first published June 16, can be found in the link below:

Platts proposes to amend 3 dry bulk implied freight assessments; launch KMAX-9 derived Panamax dry bulk freight assessment.

The ship size for wheat shipments from Bulgaria to Indonesia will change from Panamax to Supramax, the cargo size will be adjusted from 60,000 mt to 50,000 mt, and the implied freight rates will be derived from Platts GSP 11 index instead of the existing KMAX-9 index.

The GSP 11 Index is a daily weighted average Supramax time charter equivalent (TCE) index reflecting ton-mile demand on eleven key TCE assessments. The GSP 11 index for the 57,000 dwt Supramax class ship is derived by applying an allocated weighting to the daily Supramax TCE assessments of 11 key voyages published at the London close.

The freight element of the calculation for the amended implied freight assessment will be based on the daily value of the GSP 11index, while costs and expenses specific to the route will reflect standard market practice.

Platts calculations will include port charges, loading and discharge rates, ship speed, fuel consumption and other relevant expenses specific to each route, following a robust survey of market participants.

The assessments will follow the GSP 11 publication schedule and will not be published when either Singapore or London, or both locations, are out on a public holiday.

The route will be revised as below with the following time-charter trip assumptions:

Vessel DeliveryLoad PortDischarge portBunker Port
Canakkale, TurkeyVarna, BulgariaCigading, IndonesiaIstanbul, Turkey

Simultaneously, Platts also proposes to launch an additional dry bulk Panamax freight assessment for 60,000 mt wheat shipments from Chornomorsk, Ukraine to Cigading, Indonesia, with implied freight rates derived from the Platts KMAX 9 Index.

The KMAX 9 Index is a daily weighted average Kamsarmax time charter equivalent (TCE) index reflecting ton-mile demand on nine key TCE assessments. The KMAX 9 index for the 81,000 dwt Kamsarmax class ship is derived by applying an allocated weighting to the daily Panamax TCE assessments of six key voyages published at the Singapore close and three key voyages published at the London close.

The freight element of the calculation for the proposed implied freight assessment will be based on the daily value of the KMAX 9 index, while costs and expenses specific to each route will reflect standard market practice.

Platts calculations will include port charges, loading and discharge rates, ship speed, fuel consumption and other relevant expenses specific to each route, following a robust survey of market participants.

The new route will be based on the following time-charter trip assumptions:

Vessel DeliveryLoad PortDischarge portBunker Port
Canakkale, TurkeyChornomorsk, UkraineCigading, IndonesiaIstanbul, Turkey

Below are the loading/discharge rates, port costs, canal transit fees, and other key expense assumptions used for the calculation of the implied freight assessments.

Loading / Discharge rates (mt/day)Port Costs / Transit Fees & Other Expenses
Varna, Bulgaria8,000$70,000
Chornomorsk, Ukraine8,000$95,000
Cigading, Indonesia8,000$120,000
Turkish Straits-$70,000
Suez Canal-$295,000
Gulf of Aden Security-$30,000
Istanbul Bunkering-$4,000

Loading and discharge terms are based on a Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays Excluded (SSHEX) schedule assumption with 105 working hours on a given week.

Loading calculations from the port of Varna, Bulgaria and Chornomorsk, Ukraine include a 12-hour turn time assumption, while transiting the Turkish Straits includes a waiting assumption of two days each way.

Bunkering in Istanbul is assumed to add one day in the relevant voyages, while waiting to transit the Suez Canal also introduces an additional day in the Varna-to-Cigading and Chornomorsk-to-Cigading implied freight assessment calculations.

Platts will seek to periodically review and update the port charges, loading and discharge rates, ship speed, fuel consumption, and other relevant expenses for each route described above.

The assessment will be published in US dollars/mt and reflect a lay days-cancelling period of 15-30 days forward.

The assessment will follow the KMAX 9 publication schedule and will not be published on days when either Singapore or London, or both locations are out on a public holiday.

The Varna -to-Cigading 50kt and the Chornomorsk-to-Cigading 60kt implied freight assessments will reflect a timestamp of 16:30 London time.

The assessments will appear in the following fixed pages: SHP0620, SHP2621, SHP2620, SHP0630, SHP0631, PAA3938, PBF3938.

Please send any feedback, comments, or questions to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.