Nobu Su’s outspoken comments about the bulk cargo market shine a spotlight on a remarkable piece of price inflation that has been little noticed outside the closed world of shipping.

On Friday, the Baltic Exchange, which collects information about shipping markets, was quoting the standard charter rate for a Capesize dry bulk carrier – the largest kind, so called because it has to sail around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope rather than use the Panama or Suez Canals – at $179,527 a day.