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Hellish earnings for owners as Baltic Dry closes on 666

Hellish earnings for owners as Baltic Dry closes on 666

London: The evil tailspin that has seen dry bulk plunge to near all time lows closed yesterday on the Mark of the Beast --- 666, the alleged number of the Devil, a suitably dark and appropriate number amid the rate bloodbath.

The association of the number 666 with the Devil is taken from the Book of Revelations. However, earlier versions of the book suggest the actual number was 616. For owners the latter number is where the index is heading as the index continues to slide each day from its highs of nearly 12,000 mid-year.
 
According to a latest report by Allied Shipbroking, the up to 99 percent drop of rates is described as disappointing, with almost every ship type suffering amid a lack of cargoes and tonnage oversupply. This has led to an idling of many vessels. Allied estimated that almost 25 percent of the capesize fleet is now off market, since they can't even break even.

Meanwhile, in a report about Nordic Banks, Deutsche Bank's analysts said that there is roughly 20% overcapacity in dry cargo and 10% in the container market and freight demand is falling as the world enters a recession. "We believe dry cargo and container markets could become as dire as the tanker market of the mid 1980s, when rates were below breakeven levels and in some cases "zero dollar day rates" were seen" Deutsche Bank said.  Evil for all earnings! [5/12/08]