Baltimore channel unlikely to boost dry bulkers

The temporary channel that will be opened at the Port of Baltimore around the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge will be far too shallow to move large vessels and provide support to dry bulk freight rates.

The planned channel will be 11 ft deep (3.35m) and too shallow for the three types of vessels primarily responsible for transporting coal out of Baltimore. Supramaxes, Panamaxes and Capesizes have minimum drafts of 12.8m, 14.43m and 18.2m, respectively, and accounted for 87pc of the 19.94mn t of coal shipped from Baltimore in 2023, according to global trade analytics platform Kpler.

The channel is being built for "commercially essential" vessels, according to the federal Unified Command overseeing the removal of the collapsed bridge, which will include ships involved in the salvage operations.

If coal exporters do try to use smaller vessels to move their cargoes it would likely be on smaller barges, which would mean coal exports would continue to be heavily restricted.

The suspension of traffic depressed rates last week, especially for Capesizes and Panamaxes. The cost of coal-laden Capesize vessels transporting cargo from the US east coast to Rotterdam declined by $3/t to $12.90/t from 25-28 March, according to Argus data. Panamaxes traveling along the same route fell by $1.40/t to $13.90/t during the same period.

By Gabriel Squitieri