Dry bulk fleet congestion rises above 59Mdwt

The combined congestion of the dry bulk fleet at Australian, Brazilian, Indian and Chinese ports has risen above 59Mdwt, ICAP Shipping reports. This is the highest level we have seen since January and is equivalent to nearly 11% of the entire dry bulk fleet, marginally greater than the year-to-date average of 10.25%. The largest single contributing sector was by some distance the Capes, for which queues amount to 36.4Mdwt. At any given time this year an average of 16% of the Capesize fleet has been subject to port congestion, although the most recent data puts the current figure marginally lower, at 15.80%. In contrast, Panamax congestion has shown a clearer tendency to grow since January, rising above the 12.5Mdwt level at last count, equating to 8.7% of the total Panamax fleet. While this figure is markedly lower than that of the Capes, it is still considerably greater than the Panamax year-to-date average of 7.5%.