Israel-based Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd's Zim Los Angeles, with a capacity of 8,440 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), will arrive at the deep-sea port in Chon Buri on July 23, said PAT governor Sunida Sakulratana.

The Zim Djibouti, which can carry 10,000 TEU, will then arrive on Aug 6, followed by another mega-vessel in early October. Thai Star Shipping Co will be the ships' operator, she said.

The Korean-made vessels will start a monthly service, carrying Thai goods to Europe, the US and Asian markets like Hong Kong and China, said Mrs Sunida.

"The company's agreement to operate the vessels via Laem Chabang simply means there is demand," she said. "This prompts us to believe both outbound and inbound shipments are on the way to recovery."

The global recession has caused the first drop in exports from Laem Chabang, she said. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year from October 2008, shipments fell 16% year-on-year to 30.2 million tonnes, while volume at Bangkok Port fell 18% to 9.95 million.

"We are expecting volume to increase in the current quarter," she said. The PAT expects shipments through ports to dip by 9% over the fiscal year 2009, she said.

Shipping rates have edged past 3,000 after nine straight days of decline to 2,975 points early this week. But the market has an eye on Chinese economic figures, set to be released later this week.

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the most closely watched measure of commodity-shipping rates, rose 122 points, or 4.1%, on Tuesday to 3,075. Analysts expect the BDI to stay around 2,950 in the third quarter, compared with an average of 7,100 in the same period of 2008.

Khalid Hashim, managing director of SET-listed Precious Shipping Plc (PSL), said the index's recent drop was mainly caused by China's slowing iron ore imports and easing congestion at ports, while new ships are entering the market.

"If the recent situation continues, the supply of ships will increase enough to overwhelm demand. Then, the BDI could come down to between 1,000 and 2,000," he said. "However, it is almost impossible to predict where demand is going to be over the near term - it could be influenced very strongly by one commodity or one country."

The recent rebound of the BDI sent shares of Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA), the top dry-bulk carrier, up 5.24% to 22.10 baht. PSL, the country's second-largest carrier, rose 40 satang to 15.50 baht, while Regional Container Lines Plc (RCL) was up 10 satang to 9.60 baht.