Firmer Sentiment / Ballasters Dropping below 12m avg: Ballasters Vs Baltic Rates in International Shipping News 30/04/2026 April ends with firm sentiment in both Capesize and Panamax segments. On the C3 route, freight levels are supported by ballaster counts trending below the 12-month average. In Panamax, low ballaster availability across the P1/P2/P7 routes signals an undersupplied market, underpinning current rate strength. The Baltic Dry Index is approaching 2,700 points, with gains recorded across all sub-indices: Capesize leading at +117.4% YoY, followed by Supramax +58.2%, Handysize +41.8%, and Panamax +40.9%. FREIGHT ATLANTIC Capesize C3 / Panamax P7 | Firmer C3 Tubarao–Qingdao / P7 US Gulf–Qingdao grain Capesize C3 / Panamax P7 C3 | Tubarao to Qingdao | 33.12 $/MT | Day: +0.09 | Week: -0.28 | Year: +13.27 P7 | US Gulf to Qingdao grain | 68.69 $/MT | Day: +0.01 | Week: -0.78 | Year: +22.37 Supramax S4A / Handysize HS4_38 | Firmer S4A US Gulf trip to Skaw-Passero / HS4_38 US Gulf trip via USG or NCSA Supramax S4A / Handysize HS4_38 S4A | US Gulf trip to Skaw-Passero | 28,100 $/day | Day: -143 | Week: +1,379 | Year: +14,021 HS4_38 | US Gulf trip via US Gulf or North Coast South America | 14,071 $/day | Day: +392 | Week: +1,600 | Year: +3,850 FREIGHT PACIFIC Capesize | C5 Firmer C5 West Australia–Qingdao Capesize C5 C5 | West Australia to Qingdao | 13.20 $/MT | Day: +0.17 | Week: -0.32 | Year: +5.13 Panamax P5_82 / Supramax S10 | Firmer P5_82 South China, Indonesian round voyage / S10 South China trip via Indonesia Panamax P5_82 / Supramax S10 P5_82 | South China, Indonesian round voyage | 20,244 $/day | Day: +413 | Week: +1,772 | Year: +8,863 S10 | South China trip via Indonesia to South China | 17,668 $/day | Day: -216 | Week: +1,305 | Year: +5,832 BALLASTERS OVERVIEW We take a closer look at the basins of ballast count increases per vessel size segment. Capesize Capesize Ballasters Ballasters are rising in the Indian Ocean/SA to more than 160 (+8% WoW), while in Australasia the count has sustained at 200. Panamax Panamax Ballasters Atlantic basins are surging. NATL up +38% WoW and SATL up +32% WoW, while FEAST/NOPAC basin shows modest growth. Supramax Supramax Ballasters The North Atlantic basin is surging with the count up +40% WoW and FEAST/NOPAC up +20% WoW. Handysize Handysize Ballasters Ballasters are surging in the Atlantic and Pacific, with NATL and SATL leading at +31% and +33% WoW. The Indian Ocean is growing at a more measured pace of +9%. DEMAND | TONNE MILES – 7D MA – INDEX VIEW Capesize ↓ 0.9% WoW | Panamax ↓ 1.5% WoW | Supramax ↓ 0.3% WoW Tonne Miles — Base 100 Index Tonne Miles Index By the end of April, Supramax and Panamax are losing momentum, while Capesize is showing a renewed upward trend. Despite the recent softening, both Capesize and Panamax indices remain above the 100% threshold, indicating still-elevated demand levels, whereas Supramax continues to lag below. Source: Signal Group Tops 2026-04-30 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("lo