Maritime & Shipping, Dry Freight

October 21, 2024

Platts proposes to launch global weighted average Supramax dry bulk TCE indexes Dec 2

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, proposes to start publishing daily global weighted average Supramax time charter equivalent (TCE) indexes reflecting Atlantic and Pacific trades, basis 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel and scrubber-fitted ships and comprising ton-mile rates of 10 key TCE assessments, effective Dec. 2.

The new indexes will be called GSP 10 and GSP 10S.

The GSP 10 index will be a demand-weighted average of 10 key TCE assessments basis 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel, while the GSP 10S will be an average of the same TCE assessments basis scrubber-fitted ships.

These new indexes will represent a significant segment of the global dry bulk market that is not currently reflected in existing price benchmarks. Supramax ships in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans typically remain within the regions, and the associated flows depend significantly on triangulation, which helps to minimize ballast time as well as boost tonnage utilization and earnings.

The new indexes will reflect this important ship flow that includes the movement of commodities such as grains, coal, scrap, petcoke and limestone.

The GSP 10/10S index assessments for the 57,000 dwt Supramax class ship will be derived by applying allocated weightings to the daily Supramax TCE assessments of 10 key voyages published at 1630 London time. The index assessment will not be published on days when either Singapore or London, or both locations, have a public holiday.

Weightings for the individual TCE assessments will be determined by the volume of Supramax ship movements observed between the regions associated with the respective voyages in the last three years from S&P Global Commodities at Sea trade-flow software, calculated in ton-mile.

Ton-mile demand is calculated by multiplying the volume of cargo moved in metric tons by the distance traveled in miles.

The weightings for the TCE assessment(s) based on flows observed over Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2023 would be as follows:

Basis bunker fuel 0.5%

Route Voyage Weighting (%)

PSTCE22L S Kalimantan, Indonesia-Navlakhi, India 26%
PSTCE24L E Kalimantan, Indonesia-Guangzhou, China 8%
PSTCE21L Richards Bay, South Africa-Paradip, India 6%
PSTCE19L Mina Saqr, UAE-Paradip, India 19%
PSTCE12L DOP SWP, New Orleans, Louisiana to Kashima, Japan 19%
PSTCE17L DOP SWP, Houston, Texas to Krishnapatnam, India 4%
PSTCE11L DOP SWP, New Orleans, Louisiana to Iskenderun, Turkey 4%
PSTCE291L DOP Gibraltar, Santos, Brazil to Qingdao, China 2%
PSTCE32L DOP Recalada San Lorenzo, Argentina to Bejaia, Algeria 8%
PSTCE16L DOP Rotterdam, Netherlands to Aliaga, Turkey 2%

Basis scrubber-fitted

Route Voyage Weighting (%)

PSTCE22 S Kalimantan, Indonesia-Navlakhi, India 26%
PSTCE24 E Kalimantan, Indonesia-Guangzhou, China 8%
PSTCE21 Richards Bay, South Africa-Paradip, India 6%
PSTCE19 Mina Saqr, UAE-Paradip, India 19%
PSTCE12 DOP SWP, New Orleans, Louisiana to Kashima, Japan 19%
PSTCE17 DOP SWP, Houston, Texas to Krishnapatnam, India 4%
PSTCE11 DOP SWP, New Orleans, Louisiana to Iskenderun, Turkey 4%
PSTCE291 DOP Gibraltar, Santos, Brazil to Qingdao, China 2%
PSTCE32 DOP Recalada San Lorenzo, Argentina to Bejaia, Algeria 8%
PSTCE16 DOP Rotterdam, Netherlands to Aliaga, Turkey 2%

Please send all comments or questions by Nov. 4 to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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