Handysize bulkers saw their lowest rates in more than 18 months on Tuesday, thanks to a weakening market in the Atlantic basin. The Baltic Exchange’s Handysize 7TC, a spot-rate average across seven key routes, slipped to $17,189 per day, marking the lowest level since it came in at $17,011 per day on 22 February 2021. The rate has been on a downward trend since mid-May when it topped out at $30,004 per day on 16 May.

The HS3 route from Brazil to Europe showed the biggest one-day decline in spot rates that make up the 7TC basket, falling 2.4% to $20,223 per day on Tuesday, Baltic Exchange data showed. “Owners are playing the waiting game in order to see the market increasing soon but for the moment it seems very flat,” German handysize operator Vogemann said in a report on Thursday.

Vogemann noted that handysizes “with dirty cargo”, those that require vessel cleaning after the voyage, to Europe have been getting spot rates “in the mid-teens” for 20 to 25 days. But bulker owners do not prefer these cargoes because such fixtures do not pay well and make for dirty ships.

The 32,376-dwt Kotor (built 2014) was rumored to have been fixed for a trip from the Black Sea to Bangladesh “in the high teens but further details had yet to emerge”, Baltic Exchange analysts said on Tuesday.

The east coast of South America market has also fallen sharply in the past week due to a lack of new fixtures, referring to the HS3 route’s average spot rate losing almost $4,000 per day in that time. Meanwhile, the US Gulf Coast market continued to move sideways as the average spot rate for the HS4 trip to Skaw-Passero stayed at around $15,500 per day, Vogemann said.

The market for the Mediterranean and Black seas has also remained stagnant since last week, according to Vogemann. “Quite a few cargoes are coming out of Ukraine and Russia, but unfortunately there are uncertain circumstances which make these cargoes difficult to fix,” the company said.