The loan facility is a milestone deal because it is the first sustainability linked loan financing this vessel category

Prices of five-year-old capes and newcastlemaxes have gained 26% over the last year, while handies have gained 29%, according to a Braemar ACM research report

Bulk carrier queues had increased to 41 vessels in port of Newcastle, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel tracking data, the longest queues since last November

Allied Shipbroking says average earnings for the segment so far this year have been the highest since 2008, while sale and purchase activity has been triple the first quarter of last year

Total congestion outside both canal entrances has soared, with Lloyd’s List Intelligence showing about 46 bulk carriers awaiting transit through the busy waterway in the wake of the Ever Given grounding

Queuing peaked at 40 vessels at Newcastle port, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. Elsewhere, port Kembla’s queue has also surged to 19 ships

Strong appetite for panamax and supramax vessels has pushed the Baltic Dry Index to its highest level since October last year, while stability in Libya could bring a boon in oil exports to a country reeling from a decade-long civil war

BIMCO’s chief shipping analyst Peter Sand expects Chinese iron ore imports to rise to record levels on the back of continued recovery in domestic steel heavy industries. In the long term, though, he believes the shipping industry cannot count on Chinese iron ore imports to continue to grow at the current pace

As charter rates soar for smaller bulk vessels, uncertainty still prevails in the capesize sector due to an oversupplied tonnage market and limited demand for Brazilian iron ore

Asset values across the bulker spectrum from handysizes up to kamsarmaxes have increased by 40% in a short space of time, driven by sentiment, said a sales and purchase shipbroker

While China’s ban on Australian cargo has been positive for the dry bulk market, over 40 laden bulkers remain stranded in Chinese anchorages and ports with crews stuck on board for months, Lloyd’s List intelligence data shows

The company says it will likely achieve the highest time charter equivalent rates in more than nine years in the first quarter given the rising market, particularly for supramaxes in which it specialises