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NEW DELHI, SEPT 6; Freight rates for dry bulk carriers could tumble near historic lows next year as new ships flood the market and iron ore demand in china weakens sources said.

However precious shipping which manages 21 dry bulk carriers and charges its customer on a daily basis is unlikely to be significantly impacted by the weakening freight market as it has already booked a quarter of its vessels through 2013. said Khalid Hashim, MD of the listed firm. The Baltic index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry commodities including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, has fallen around 10 pc so far this year, It traded at 2,713 points last Tuesday, up 0.04 pc or one point. ‘If you look at the index in historical terms, the lowest it hit was 554 points in the mid-80s, then it came down to 663 in Decemeber 2008, it could come to somewhere close to this type of number,’ Mr Hashim said ‘China is trying to slow down the real estate market because it is creating a bubble. That is going to have an impact on the dry bulk market,’ the 57 year-old executive said.

The company is trying to boost the number of its vessels to 65 by 2013 or 2014, after disposing of around 33 ships in recent years as part of its fleet renewal programme.