Why Safe Bulkers and Star Bulk Carriers Dropped Today -- but Castor Maritime Stock Popped

As of 11:45 a.m. EDT, shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ: SBLK) are down 8.8% and Safe Bulkers (NYSE: SB) is off 10.6%, but penny stock and fellow dry bulk shipper Castor Maritime (NASDAQ: CTRM) is sailing in the opposite direction, up 8.7%. As you may have heard, the Baltic Exchange Dry Index (BDI), which tracks the rates that dry bulk shipping companies can charge for hauling dry bulk goods (e.g., coal, iron pellets, and grain) across the ocean, peaked at 3,266 on May 5 -- up 138% from the start of this year. Then the BDI dipped, but came close to regaining its earlier heights six days later, reaching 3,254 -- but it's been generally sinking ever since.