For 3,000-DWT oil tankers moving from Dalian to Zhoushan, the freight rates were Yuan 95-105/mt on Sep 20, up Yuan 5/mt from Aug 20. In the meantime, the freight rates for the Dalian-Huangpu route edged up about Yuan 3/mt to Yuan 150-160/mt.
The freight rates for 3,000-DWT ships plying from Dalian to Shanghai were stable at Yuan 105-115/mt. Very few ships were on this route due to tough regulation for the World Expo.
Shipping demand from East China increased from August, ship owners said. Traders in East China beefed up stockpile replenishment as their resources were almost out of stock after large consumption in early September. Quite a few ship owners have booked ships in view of climbing prices of blendstock.
Meanwhile, fuel oil shipping towards South China was largely stable.
Freight rates are likely to climb further in the coming two weeks as shipping grows amid supply shortage of bituminous feedstock, residue and slurry in East China.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
