VLCC
Although Middle East tensions remain, owners and charterers have picked up fixing volume, including on older and ‘compromised’ tonnage, but the market has eased slightly. 270,000mt Middle East Gulf/China now rests at WS 50-51 level. 280,000mt Middle East Gulf/US Gulf basis Cape/Cape is rated at WS 21-22 region. 260,000mt West Arica/China has come under pressure, dropping a few points to WS 48, while 270,000mt US Gulf/China has also fallen to $5.7m level.

Suezmax
Rates for 130,000mt West Africa/UK Continent came under further pressure this week, bottoming out just below WS 60, before bouncing back to WS 65 level at the time of writing. 135,000mt Black Sea/Mediterranean lost around WS 5 points over the week, now being rated at WS 77.5 region, despite limited known volume. In the Middle East, owners continued to come under pressure, 140,000mt Basrah/Mediterranean falling from WS 45 to WS 39.

Aframax
Owners put Charterers under pressure this week in the Mediterranean, lifting the market for 80,000mt Ceyhan/Mediterranean to WS 105, up around WS 20 points week-on-week. Meanwhile 80,000mt Cross-North Sea remained static at WS 87.5. 100,000mt Baltic/UK Continent continues in the low WS 60s.

Clean
The Middle East Gulf clean market was slightly weaker this week. 75,000mt Middle East Gulf/Japan sits at WS97.5. 55,000mt Arabian Gulf/Japan fell a couple of points to WS 110. Again, the better-performing markets this week were in the Atlantic. After an explosion and fire at a refinery in Philadelphia, and its subsequent closure reducing local gasoline production just in time for the USA driving season, the market for 37,000mt Continent/US Atlantic Coast climbed from the mid-WS 120s to WS 160 level, before easing back to WS 135 region. 38,000mt US Gulf/UK Continent gained another WS 5 points to end the week at WS 105.
Source: The Baltic Briefing