VLCC

Another week of static rates in this sector although bunker prices have increased by about 10% so the result is lower returns in real terms for owners. In the Middle East, 280,000mt to USG via the Cape/Cape routing remains assessed at WS15 and 270,000mt to China continued to hover around WS26. In the Atlantic, rates for 260,000mt West Africa to China again held around the WS29 level and $4.5-4.525m region for 270,000mt USG to China.

Suezmax

Rates for 135,000mt Black Sea/Med saw a 1-point gain to WS46, while owners in the 130,000mt Nigeria to UKContinent market were able to push rates up to just shy of WS40. In the Middle East market rates for 140,000mt Basrah/Med held at just below WS22.

Aframax

In the 80,000mt Ceyhan/Lavera market, owners managed to claw back three to four points to about WS67. In Northern Europe a marginal one point increase to WS70 level was seen for 80,000mt cross-North Sea and 100,000mt Baltic/UKC remained flat at the WS41 mark.

On the other side of the Atlantic, owners “won by a lot” this week with rates for 70,000mt Carib/USGulf improving by about 13 points to between WS58 level. A 70,000mt USG/UKC saw a 15-point rise to close to WS62.

Clean

In the Middle East Gulf/Japan trade, owners were able to capitalise on a firmer market with rates for 75,000mt improving 16 points to mid-WS70s. The LR1 market, meanwhile, saw an eight point increase to WS73.5. The MR market also saw a nine-point gain to WS110 for the 35,000mt AG/East Africa trip. In the Western Hemisphere, the 37,000mt UKContinent/USAC market firmed by about 10 points to WS75 level, while the return trip of 38,000ms from US Gulf to UKContinent saw rates maintained at around WS47.5-50 level. The 38,000mt US Gulf to Brazil remained flat again at WS 70. The 30,000mt cross-Mediterranean market was about six points down from a week ago at WS70 level.
Source: The Baltic Briefing