There was scant cheer for operators of large tonnage from Med banana charterers, which for the past two years have kept the mode busy in the downtime between the end of the southern hemisphere citrus and kiwifruit seasons and the start of the deciduous fruit season. To add insult to injury, two of the only three vessels that were chartered from Colombia/Central America into the Med were small units.
As the reefer industry lamented the loss of the Canary Island tomato business to the carriers, it transpired that the reason behind the decision to switch was related to factors outside the control of either mode. Put simply, there is no longer enough export volume to justify chartering specialized reefer vessels. The decline is partly due to increased competition from both mainland Spain and Morocco, but principally down to the spread of plant diseases, which have reduced crop yields.
In 2016/17 the Canary Islands shipped a total of 55K MT of tomatoes, a figure 6.7K MT lower than 2015/16. In order to make the trade viable, reefer vessels need a load factor above 55%, according to FEDEX Press Officer Gustavo Rodriguez. Last year the average was less than 50% - hence the switch!
On period business, while Geest extended, indeed amplified its Caribbean to UK and N Cont service to include Colombia port calls, it has emerged that the 4-vessel charter Maestro has with Chiquita for its Med service was for 24 months and not 12, and will therefore be up for discussion next autumn. There are three renewals still to be concluded for 2018 and beyond: the Solent and Southampton Star with FCC, Chartworld tonnage with Cool Carriers, and the five Ecuadorian Line Island Class units, which are split between Baltic Shipping and Star Reefers.
Despite demand remaining disappointingly undynamic in the small segment, there was no material change in the benchmark rate on the Mauritania to West Africa voyage: port congestion in Africa kept tonnage off market and there was sufficient interest in Iceland and the Faroes to offset the poor fish catch in Moroccan and Mauritanian waters. Towards the end of the month, singleton operators re-appeared, which upset the delicate equilibrium and forced rates lower. Nevertheless, with operators positioning tonnage for what is expected to be a strong November/December potato season, the rate reduction is likely to be short lived.
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