Crude tanker spot rates continued to firm this week, with very-large crude carriers (VLCC) fixing at about $42,000 a day on 21 Aug., 3 % higher than the previous session and roughly 5 % above levels quoted two days earlier. Suezmax rates advanced to $50,000 a day and Aframax earnings reached $33,000, extending the mid-August rally in dirty-tanker markets. Product-tanker earnings were more mixed, with medium-range (MR) rates gaining 4 % to $23,000 while long-range units slipped. By contrast, container freight rates continued to soften. Drewry’s Composite World Container Index fell 4.2 % over the past week to $2,250 for a 40-foot box, leaving the benchmark 58 % lower than a year ago amid persistent weakness on China-to-Europe and trans-Pacific routes. In the dry-bulk market, forward freight agreements for smaller vessel classes strengthened, and September contracts traded higher across the curve, according to broker data. Spot and futures gains helped lift shipping equities, with the Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF up about 3 % intraday. Navios Maritime Partners reported second-quarter earnings per share of $2.34, roughly 40 cents above analysts’ consensus. Adjusted EPS came in at $2.15. The Athens-based owner has repurchased 717,000 units year-to-date, sold three vessels during the quarter and said 83 % of its third-quarter fleet days are fixed at an average time-charter equivalent rate of $24,509. The stock rose roughly 5 % in early New York trading, leading the sector.