The Baltic Exchange reports a firming tone across multiple tanker sectors in Week 47, driven by rising clean-tanker demand and improving freight rates across several key trade routes.
Clean Tankers
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LR2 Segment: Freight for LR2 tankers in the Middle East Gulf remains firm. The TC1 75kt MEG→Japan index rose by 5 points to WS150, pushing the equivalent TCE to just over US $36,000/day. On the westbound leg (MEG → UK/Continent), the TC20 90kt rate increased from about US $3.94 million to US $4.16 million. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean-to-East TC15 index for 80kt LR2s stayed flat, landing at US $3.65 million.
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LR1 Segment: MEG-to-Japan LR1 rates improved significantly, with the TC5 55kt index climbing from WS144 to WS153. On the UK-Continent leg (TC8, 65 kt), earnings went up by around US $135,000 to US $3.16 million. For the ARA → West Africa (TC16) route, the weekly index gained 3.5 points to hit WS132.
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MR (Medium Range): The MEG MRs saw a sharp rebound: the TC17 35 kt MEG → East Africa index jumped from the WS215–220 band to WS246. On the UK-Continent side, the TC2 37 kt ARA → US Atlantic Coast index surged 34 points to WS165, lifting the round-trip TCE by 54% to nearly US $18,400/day. In the US Gulf, MR rates remained stable between WS175 and WS185 for the TC14 38 kt US Gulf → UK-Continent run, resulting in a TCE of around US $22,000–25,000/day. For the Caribbean run (TC21, 38 kt), the rate dipped mid-week to US $682,000 but rebounded to US $825,000. The Atlantic MR triangulation basket TCE rose from US $34,085/day to US $37,435/day.
Dirty / Larger Tankers
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Handymax (Smaller Dirty): In the Mediterranean, 30 kt Handymax vessels reported a strong rebound: the TC6 cross-Med index jumped from WS185 to WS228, lifting the TCE to US $32,700/day. On the UK-Continent leg (TC23), the index gained 12 points to WS204.
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VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers): The Middle East Gulf → China route (TD3C) saw its rate climb by 4 points to WS133.94, delivering a round-trip TCE of approximately US $131,252/day. In the Atlantic, the West Africa → China leg (TD15) held steady at WS119, with a TCE of around US $113,000/day. However, the US Gulf → China route (TD22) declined by more than US $56,000 for the week, translating to a daily TCE of US $93,873.
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Suezmax: Rates remained firm in some areas, though there were mixed movements. The Nigeria → UK-Continent route (TD20) declined 3 points to WS156.39, with a TCE of about US $78,751/day. The Guyana → UK-Continent leg (TD27) lost 4.5 points to WS154.44, equating to a TCE near US $77,563/day. In the Middle East, the CPC → Augusta run (TD6) strengthened by 21 points to WS185, giving a TCE just over US $107,500/day. The MEG → Mediterranean (via Suez, TD23) inched up by 1 point to WS113.5.
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Aframax: In the North Sea, the 80 kt Cross-UK Continent route (TD7) held around WS157, yielding a TCE of near US $65,100/day. In the Mediterranean, the 80 kt cross-Med route (TD19) dropped sharply by 26 points to WS187; its TCE is now close to US $55,000/day. Across the Atlantic, the East Coast Mexico → US Gulf (70 kt, TD26) rate fell by about 10 points to WS202.5, giving a TCE of US $54,500/day. The Covenas → US Gulf route (70 kt, TD9) slipped to WS200 (~US $50,500/day), and the US Gulf → UK-Continent transatlantic leg (TD25) lost 9 points to WS203.33, coming to ~US $55,700/day for a round trip. In the Pacific, crude exports from Vancouver (TD28, 80 kt) recovered US $112,500 to reach US $3.375 million; the lightering point (TD29) jumped over 20 points to WS252.5–255.
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Source: Baltic Exchange
