A dry bulk researcher said: "We found about 220 ships east of the Suez Canal that are available and can actually arrive in the east coast of South America to load cargo within the next 1 to 1.5 months. In a more typical strong market, The usual number is 160 to 180 ships."
Another broker said: "Tonnage has been increasing for the next 30 days, with more than 50 South American ballast vessels, including Panamax and Kamsarmax vessels, in this 30-day count."
In week 17, there were 122 cargo ships and 146 ballast ships off the east coast of South America, according to CAS.
"We found several charterers who needed shipments in time for May 15 and started snapping up ships last weekend," one broker said.
