French liner giant CMA CGM has signed a short-term charter contract for a newly built 7,000 TEU vessel at a rate of up to $105,000 per day.
With the return of six-day charter rates, container charter rates have hit a new record since the outbreak, liner companies are once again paying sky-high rents for short charters, and it also marks the return of small container operators to the Asia-Europe trade route.
The 7,092 TEU Kota Callao, one of six vessels being built by China's Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for Taiwan's TS Lines, was confirmed by multiple chartering brokers. The vessel has been confirmed for a three-month charter at $105,000 per day and will be delivered within the next two weeks.
Clarkson analysts note that with spot rates at a post-pandemic high, shipowners are looking to turn a profit with short charters and sharply higher rents.
Affected by the Red Sea crisis, the container market has continued to rise for more than five months. The Shanghai Container Freight Rate Index (SCFI), released on Friday, rose 140 points to 3,184.87, the highest level since August 2022, while Drewry's composite World Container Index rose 12 percent to $4,716 per FEU on Thursday, up 181 percent from a year earlier. The Drewry index is 232 percent higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic average rate of $1,420.
