Source: Financial Times, 29th August 2011

There have been few more potent symbols over the past decade of China’s growing influence in the world economy – or of the bonanza it has created for many shipowners – than the long queues of ships off Australia’s coast.

A surge in demand from China for iron ore – which has more than tripled since 2004 – and the country’s conversion from a coal exporter to importer have at times overwhelmed the infrastructure of the world’s biggest commodity exporter. At its height in mid-2008, the congestion contributed to a spike in spot-market earnings for the largest capesize dry bulk carriers to $233,988 a day.

Read the full article on FT.com