Clean
Freight levels in the Middle East Gulf continued to tumble this week. TC1 shed 30 points to end up at WS240 however the round trip TCE has held over the $50,000 per day. Likewise for voyage west on an LR2, TC20 dropped from $5,400,000 to $4,650,000 following a widely reported fixture done mid-week at $4,600,000.
The LR1s followed the behavior of their larger sisters, TC5 was tested down and has lost WS46.43 to end up at WS288.57. On a voyage to the UK-continent TC8 has also similarly shed some value, around $370,000 to the $4,300,000.
The MRs of TC17 have again come off significantly, although not as dramatically as last week. The index lost 60 points to end up at WS370.
In the West, the LR2s have been subject to lesser activity and subsequently TC15 has lost almost all of its gains from last week, dropping $87,500 to $4,416,667 by the end of the week. The LR1s of TC16 have been relatively quiet with freight rates holding in the WS220 region.
MRs on the UK-Continent saw just enough trade this week to continue pushing fixing rates upwards. TC2 nudged up 14.73 points to WS301.67 and likewise TC19 improved to WS310.71 (+WS13.21).
In the US-Gulf, the MRs have been subject to extreme fluctuation – climbing and dropping with equal magnitude. TC14 bottomed out at WS188 (down from WS230) mid-week only to return WS245 two days later. Similarly, TC18 plateaued at WS285 (down from WS335) to then returned up to the WS350 level.
Handymax vessels in the Mediterranean continued to climb this week with TC6 jumping 24.07 points to WS248.13. Available tonnage remained tight and cargoes continued to enter the market. In the Baltic TC9 remained stable around the WS325 mark.
VLCC
VLCC rates continued their upward climb this week with the 270,000mt Middle East Gulf/China route gaining 4.5 points to just shy of WS104 (a round-trip TCE of $68,600 per day). Meanwhile, the rate for 280,000mt Middle East Gulf/USG (via Cape of Good Hope) had another point added to last week’s assessment to about WS53.75.
In the Atlantic, rates for 260,000mt West Africa/China rose just over 1.5 points to a touch above WS100 (about $66,000 per day round-trip TCE). For the 270,000mt US Gulf/China market though, rates were reduced by $200,000 to $10,218,750 (showing a round-trip TCE of $44,500 per day). One trader relet, reported to be fixing Motiva at $9.65m basis USG to Taiwan, and an Indian State oil company on subjects with a modern ship at $9.15m on an East Coast Mexico to East Coast India trip.
Suezmax
Rates for 135,000mt Black Sea/Augusta were pretty much flat, hovering around the WS184-185 level (a round-trip TCE of $75,500 per day). Meanwhile, for the 130,000mt Nigeria/UKC trip rates climbed three points to almost WS140 (a round-trip TCE of about $41,000 per day). In the Middle East the rate for 140,000mt Basrah/West Mediterranean was a point firmer at WS66, with a Turkish charterer reported to have fixed a 2009 built Greek controlled vessel at WS65 from Basrah to Eastern Mediterranean.
Aframax
The Mediterranean market has recovered significantly over the last week with the rate for 80,000mt Ceyhan/West Mediterranean advancing 33 points to about WS185 (a round-trip TCE of close to $45,000 per day). In Northern Europe, the latest assessment for the 80,000mt Hound Point/UK Continent trip is up 7.5 points week-on-week at WS159 (a daily round trip TCE of $37,000 per day) with the availability of tonnage distinctly limited for the balance of September to early October. For the 100,000mt Primorsk/UK-Cont route the rate is now assessed 2.5 points firmer, with limited activity on the route, at the WS181-182 level (a round trip TCE of $50,100 per day). Across the Atlantic, the market displayed signs of a ‘dead cat bounce’ on the gains seen a week ago. The rate for 70,000mt EC Mexico/US Gulf fell about 21 points to WS264 (a round-trip TCE of $58,300 per day) while for the 70,000mt Caribbean/US Gulf trip the rate shed 20 points to WS245 (a daily round-trip TCE of about $47,500). For the Transatlantic route of 70,000mt US Gulf/UK Continent, the rate has been reduced by nine points to WS215 ($38,000 per day round-tip TCE).
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
