Following important changes in the safety regulation of tankers, the dry bulk sector is coming under the spotlight in a safety and quality perspective. Nominal freight differentiation between 'quality' and 'other' tonnage has been observed occasionally and much lip service has been paid to...

This paper revisits the hypothesis of a quality segmented charter market using dry bulk-Panamax time-charter rates from the shipping boom period of 2003-2007. Through generalized additive models (GAMs) the authors assess whether increasing awareness and regulation over time has brought about a...