Star Bulk Carriers is expecting capesize rates to rise over the next half year, driven by a frenzy of scrubber installations before the IMO 2020 deadline.

Rates rebounded from $3,460 per day in early April to flirting with $33,000 per day two weeks ago before dropping to $23,872 per day today as tonnage returned to the Atlantic basin.

"We’re very positive about the cape size market at least until the end of this year, with the market got as strong as it did because there were very few capes in the Atlantic for various reasons," chief executive Petros Pappas said today during a second-quarter earnings call.