SINGAPORE - Rates for capesize bulk carriers are likely to remain soft in the absence of coal cargoes and significant charter volumes from Brazil, ship brokers said. “Owners are trying to push rates up but I’m not seeing strong support in the market,” said a Shanghai-based ship broker on Thursday. “There is no coal cargo and the lack of Atlantic cargo from Brazil has been a problem since the end of last year,” the broker said. Rates from Australia to China “have risen a little bit this week but they are not that strong,” the broker said. Charter rates for large capesize vessels, which can carry around 170,000 tonnes of iron ore or coal, have generally fallen since hitting their highest level in five months two weeks ago. Average capesize earnings are now around $5,575 per day compared with $5,778 per day for this year so far, according to shipping services firm Clarkson. “The market still needs to see more cargo. So many vessels open for charter is the obstacle for the market to fly,” the broker said. The broker estimated there were up to 80 capesize ships available for charter compared with around 30 fixtures concluded in the last week. Charter rates for the Western Australia-China route were around $5.13 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $5 a tonne last week. They have been hovering close to $4.12 reached on Jan. 12, the lowest since December 2008. Rates for the Brazil-China route fell to $11.08 per tonne on Wednesday, against $11.85 per tonne a week earlier. Freight rates in the smaller panamax market are likely to slip further next week as available tonnage outpaces cargo volumes, a Singapore-based panamax broker said on Thursday. “The cargo list is not too bad, but there is still a lot of tonnage coming back to Asia with grain,” the broker said. Panamax freight rates are expected to soften rather than collapse, the Singapore broker said. Rates for a panamax transpacific voyage fell to $4,496 per day Wednesday, down from a nine-week high of $4,829 per day last Wednesday. Freight rates for smaller supramax vessels were generally flat this week, Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a weekly report on Wednesday. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index closed down at 587 on Wednesday, against 606 last Wednesday. Technical analysis showed the benchmark may rise towards its May 14 high of 637 in a week.