Hellenic Shipping News: Growing LNG Marketplace to Drive Spot Shipping Rates in 2019

08 January 2019

Market participants expect average spot charter rates in 2019 to remain strong but said that exceeding the record high levels of $190,000/day is dependent on short-term trading strategies and market fundamentals that are not always sustainable.

“For 2019, the spot market will be equally strong or even stronger than what we have seen in 2018,” Poten & Partners’ shipbroker Rolv Stokmo said on the sidelines of a conference in December.

Spot charter rates dipped in the first quarter of 2018 partly because of the shutdown at PNG LNG due to the earthquake, Stokmo said. However, the rates bounced back up in the following quarters, and the third and fourth quarters of 2019 should be strong at similar levels.

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