The record-high bunker prices of recent weeks have had little negative impact on the overall fortunes of shipowners involved in the transportation of dry goods and containers, market sources said.
"The high bunker prices don't really matter," a source at a leading leading Norwegian bulk carrier said. "Freight rates are so high at the moment that we are not so concerned."
Bunker prices in the port of Rotterdam, considered one of the largest bunkering ports in the world, rose by over US$166/mt for 380 CST fuel oil between August 24 to November 7. Although price levels have dropped off considerably over the past two weeks, Tuesday's price of $460.5/mt still equates to a rise of just under $100/mt since prices first hit record levels on September 21.
"With the bunker adjustment factor, we can pass on the cost to our clients," a global container line operator said, "but the high prices must be hurting smaller shipowners."
The bunker adjustment factor clause enables freight costs to fluctuate on the basis of bunker price movements. Rates are calculated for specific routes and types of carriers at industry events called "conferences".
However, a recent ruling by the European Commission will mean these conferences will be banned from October of 2008, at which time individual companies will be forced to set their own BAF rates.
One major bunker fuel supplier estimated that 75 percent of all bunker deliveries are destined for dry bulk/container lines, with the remaining 25 percent going towards liquid carriers.
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