Letter from the Editor
Breakbulk & Project Cargo
MPV operators remain deeply opposed to a Red Sea return, despite moves by container lines.
An emphatic‘ no’
By Carly Fields
On Feb. 3, Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that vessels in their ME11 / IMX service would be routed through the Suez Canal, marking the first time in more than two years that a Gemini service has transited the Red Sea.
However, multipurpose vessel( MPV) operators remain deeply opposed to a return to Red Sea transits despite moves by container lines to resume trade corridors through the Suez Canal.
In the Jan. 28 One World Shipbrokers’ Market Sentiment Index( MSI) report, founder and Senior Shipbroker Justin Archard surveyed 26 MPV operators and asked them to rate from 1 to 10 how willing they are to transit the Red Sea / Suez Canal based on current conditions. A score of 1 indicated“ no way” and 10 equaled“ no problem.” Half of the respondents gave a score of 1, while only three scored higher than 5 and no carrier replied with a 10. The mean response was 2.8.
The carriers that showed more of a tendency to consider Suez transits were semi-liner MPV operators which typically operate higher deadweight tonnage.
Suez Canal transits generally trended upwards in 2025, but still remain 50 % lower than they were in late 2023, Archard said. A contributor to the MSI survey said that a return to Suez transits hinges on securing broad shipper acceptance across multi-shipper voyages, yet getting everyone aligned is proving to be“ a challenge.”
The 20th edition of the MSI for the MPV and breakbulk industry showed a third successive— albeit modest— rise to a level of 53.4, from 53.3. The MSI averages responses from an anonymous group of 20 to 30 MPV owners and operators to a set of breakbulk shipping-related questions. A reading of 50 is neutral, indicating a static market. Scores below 50 show pessimism or wariness, while a score above 50 indicates optimism.
This tallied with the Feb. 6 Toepfer Multipurpose Index( TMI) assessment of $ 12,701 per day for February, up from $ 12,648 per day in January. Toepfer’ s TMI is based on expected average rates for six- to 12-month time charters for 12,500-deadweight ton“ F-Type” vessels with safe working loads( SWL) of 240-360 mt, as reported to Toepfer by owners and operators.
“ The sideways movement in MPV charter rates continues despite the approach of the Chinese New Year celebrations, which generally cause import and export activities in Chinese ports to cease for about a week,” Toepfer said.“ The TMI rate is rising slightly, and the majority of carriers are expressing positive sentiment.”
Archard said the MPV sector entered 2026 in“ a balanced and resilient position,” maintaining a positive outlook for the year.
“ Forecasts made 12 months ago for improving market conditions have proven demonstrably correct, even inside the maelstrom of uncertainty,” he said.
The outlook for the next MSI, due for publication at the end of April, points to a further modest increase, although one contributor to the MSI warned that the longer-term outlook is still driven by uncertainty.
“ Several elections in the Americas this year, coupled with a slow political move to the right, bodes well for mining and oil and gas, but less well for renewables in the Americas,” the respondent said.
email: carly. fields @ spglobal. com
Executive Editor: Mark Szakonyi 202.872.1234, mark. szakonyi @ spglobal. com
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4 Journal of Commerce | March 2026 www. joc. com