Maritime Insights & Commentary
Expert analysis on bulk shipping markets, freight rates, maritime regulations, and global trade developments.
What this blog covers
This is where the desk writes up the things that do not fit a reference page: how a regulatory change lands on a fixture, why a lane has tightened, and what a market move means for a cargo owner planning the next shipment. The aim is practical commentary from people who fix ships, not headline aggregation.
Articles fall into a few recurring threads: freight-market reads on the major dry bulk lanes, explainers on rules and conventions as they take effect, and working notes on chartering practice. For the underlying definitions behind any post, the ship chartering, dry bulk shipping, and bulk carriers hubs carry the evergreen reference pages.
Browse the latest posts below. If a piece raises a question about your own cargo, tell us about it and a broker will pick it up.
How Dry Bulk Freight Rates Work
How dry bulk freight rates are built: the freight calculation, lumpsum versus per-tonne, voyage costs, and the time-charter-equivalent that ties a voyage rate to a daily rate.
Coal Seaborne Trade Flows
The structure of seaborne coal trade: thermal versus metallurgical coal, the Indonesia and Australia export anchors, the Pacific and Atlantic basins, and the vessel lanes that carry them.
Grain Shipping Seasonality
Why grain shipping is seasonal: the northern and southern hemisphere harvest calendars, the US Gulf and South America export peaks, and how the cycle drives Panamax and Supramax demand.
What Moves the Dry Bulk Freight Market
The forces that move dry bulk freight rates: tonne-mile demand, fleet supply and orderbook, congestion and speed, bunker costs, and the seasonal and structural cycles.
Decarbonising Dry Bulk Shipping
How dry bulk shipping is decarbonising: the IMO emissions framework, the EEXI and CII measures, efficiency levers like slow steaming and hull design, and the alternative-fuel options.
Iron Ore Seaborne Trade Flows
The structure of seaborne iron ore trade: the Australia and Brazil export anchors, the China demand pull, the Capesize and VLOC lanes, and why iron ore shapes the dry bulk market.
What Drives Dry Bulk Shipping Demand
The structural drivers of dry bulk shipping demand: the major and minor bulks, steel and power and construction, tonne-mile distance effects, and the substitution that reshapes lanes.
The Panama Canal and Dry Bulk Shipping
How the Panama Canal shapes dry bulk shipping: the lock dimensions and the Panamax and Neopanamax classes, draught and water constraints, transit tolls, and the alternative routes.
The Suez Canal and Dry Bulk Shipping
How the Suez Canal shapes dry bulk shipping: the Asia to Europe shortcut, the lockless draught profile, the Cape of Good Hope alternative, and how disruption reshapes tonne-miles.