Platts to launch Capesize thermal coal, Panamax limestone voyage, TCE assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch a spot voyage assessment for Capesize coal exports from Indonesia to India, and a spot voyage assessment and time-charter equivalent assessment for Panamax limestone exports from the Persian Gulf into India, effective Dec. 1, 2022, to reflect increasing spot shipments on these routes.

Platts first proposed these assessments in a subscriber note published Oct. 11.

CAPESIZE INDONESIA TO WC INDIA COAL SPOT VOYAGE ASSESSMENT: The PC25 assessment, with daily symbol: DBTCA00 and monthly average symbol: DBTCA03, will reflect the value of chartering a Capesize vessel carrying a 150,000-mt (plus/minus 10%) thermal coal cargo from Samarinda in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, to Mundra on West Coast India, loading 7-20 days forward from the date of publication. The assessment will be basis a load and discharge rate of 15,000 mt/day and 40,000 mt/day, respectively. It will be on a Free In & Out basis, and will exclude port charges at the discharge port, in line with market practice.

Capesize shipments of thermal coal from Indonesia to India have surged 59.5% to 31.5 million mt over January-September 2022, compared with 19.77 million mt over the same period in 2021, according to vessel tracking data available with Platts. Capesize shipments on this route have increased in recent months compared with Supramax and Panamax shipments, as charterers look to maximize economies of scale amid rising freight rates.

Furthermore, according to data compiled by Platts, Capesize thermal coal spot fixtures from Indonesia to India surged to 122 over January-September 2022, compared with 22 over the whole of 2021.

PANAMAX PG TO EC INDIA LIMESTONE SPOT VOYAGE ASSESSMENT: The PP47 assessment, with daily symbol: DBLMC00 and monthly average symbol: DBLMC03, will reflect the value of chartering a Panamax vessel carrying a 75,000-mt (plus/minus 10%) limestone cargo from Mina Saqr in the UAE to Paradip on East Coast India, loading 7-20 days forward from the date of publication. The assessment will be basis a load and discharge rate of 20,000 mt/day and 18,000 mt/day, respectively, and will be on a Free In & Out basis.

Limestone shipments from Persian Gulf to India have seen a significant shift toward gearless ships like Panamaxes/Kamsarmaxes and Capesizes since the opening of two deep draft berths at the Mina Saqr port in 2019.

Indian imports of limestone from the Persian Gulf on Panamax vessels totaled 8.55 million mt over January-September 2022, up by almost 10% from the same period in 2021, according to vessel tracking data available with Platts.

PANAMAX PG TO EC INDIA LIMESTONE TCE ASSESSMENT: Platts will also publish two related time-charter equivalent assessments on the Persian Gulf-to-East Coast India limestone voyage under the symbols mentioned below, reflecting the $/day pricing on a standard Kamsarmax-class vessel using 0.5%S marine bunker fuel and a scrubber-fitted Kamsarmax vessel using 3.5%S marine bunker fuel.

These will be derived from the Panamax Persian Gulf-to-East Coast India spot voyage rate for limestone shipments.

The port charges, vessel speed, and bunker fuel consumption used in TCE calculations are arrived at by extensive market survey and reflect market practice. These can be found here.

The new TCE assessments are:

The new spot voyage and TCE assessments will reflect the value at the Asian market close at 5:30 pm Singapore time (0930 GMT) and follow the Singapore publishing schedule.

These assessments will appear in Dry Freight Wire, Platts Shipping Alert pages 612, 613, 614, 615, 622, 623, 628 and 629, and in the Platts price database under the codes above.

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

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