World Shipping Center shifts eastward to Singapore Postage Index

The London Baltic Shipping Exchange recently issued an announcement, starting from September 1, according to Singapore's normal office hours, the early release of four super-smart boat routes market reports, in order to comply with the trend of the eastward shift of the shipping industry. Since there is no time difference between Hong Kong and Singapore, the relevant report will be announced at 3 pm Hong Kong time, and the first five hours ahead of the current time. However, all dry bulk freight index will still be issued in the afternoon of London time, and the above four route data will not be calculated within the index.

The shipping industry was already reported in mid-July, and the exchange is planning to announce the dry bulk shipping report at the Singapore office earlier to accommodate the normal business hours in the Asian market and to stimulate the volume of forward freight agreements (FFA). According to the sources, the firm had recruited a market freight rapporteur to work with Williams, the general manager of its Singapore office, to implement the new arrangement. However, the spokesman said only that the proposal was still on the agenda and no exact date for implementation was set.

Only 4 Supramax boat lines

According to the latest announcement issued by the Boeing Exchange, there are a total of 4 super-smart hand-picked vessels that were issued earlier this month. These include: the route from Australia to South Korea or Japan (S6), the east coast of India to China (S7), and the route via Indonesia. The route from India to Taiwan (S8) and India from Visakhapatnam to Qingdao, China (S7 IV). The announcement time will be 3pm Singapore time, 5 hours earlier.

Although only some of the market reports on the ultra-super-smart vessel routes will be disclosed early, this is the first time since the establishment of the firm that the dry bulk carrier market report was officially released during the Asian office hours. This time, it was also the first time that the firm announced the early release of its route data. The data on the four product-laden tanker routes from Southeast Asia announced by the Institute were also announced earlier in Singapore in July 2007.

Driven by China's factors, the international dry bulk shipping market has gradually shifted to Asia in recent years. Changes in the demand for raw materials in the region have shaken the trend of all dry bulk shipbuilding rentals. The CEO of the wave exchange, Payne, has also reiterated on many occasions the importance of raw material demand in Asia to the maritime market, and has set up an office in Singapore dedicated to opening up the Asian market.

As a traditional international shipping center, London has maintained its status in the past as a result. In the past, the Bureau of Purchasing will naturally publish all dry bulk route indices and report data at 1 pm local time according to London office hours, that is, at 8 pm local time. However, a lot of people in the dry bulk shipping industry believe that the relevant data was released after the normal office hours in Asia ended. This is inconsistent with the trend of the shipping market centering on eastward migration to Asia, which indirectly hinders the industry from responding to market changes with relevant charter report data.

Does not affect freight index release time

Payne said: “We decided to provide more efficient services to members in Asia, and it is an important measure to cope with the adjustment of the international shipping market.” By reporting on market conditions in Asia, he believes that it will help stimulate the shipping market in the region. Related activities, including spot charter and freight futures markets, can also more accurately report on the conditions of the shipping market in the region. Raghu Raghunath, senior vice-president of Hong Kong Noble Group’s chartering department, also believes that the exchange’s arrangements this time will increase the volume of forward freight agreements (FFA).

However, the four Shrimp Routes mentioned above are not included in the calculation of the BSI, which means that this schedule will not affect the time of publication of any dry bulk freight index. The market reports of the four routes will also be analyzed by a new shipbroking commission. The committee members will be composed of shipbrokers in the Asian region and will then gather their achievements in the Singapore office. It has been alleged that the HKBU has also allocated additional resources to the Singapore office to ensure that the service level remains stable.