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Tankers: VLCCs Rebound Strongly

Clean

Middle East Gulf LR CPP freight climbed early on and then began to fall after plateauing this week. TC1 peaked at WS293.13 after a widely reported fixture was done at WS295 and the index then dropped back down to the WS287.5 level. Similarly, a run west on an LR2, TC20 capped out at the $5,600,000 level then dropped to $5,450,000. The LR1s also followed suit this week with TC5 climbing to just over the WS240 mark midweek then dropping back down into the high WS230s. On a voyage to the UK-continent, TC8 hopped up to the $4,700,000 mark to then resettle at $4,600,000. The MRs of TC17, by comparison, have come off significantly. This is a result of tonnage availability increasing across the week, the index lost 106.66 points to end up at WS411.67.

In the West, the LR2s have seen some good activity this week. TC15 has added $104,167, bringing the index up to $4,487,500 by the end of the week. The LR1s of TC16 have been relatively subdued and the benchmark lost 8.93 points to WS216.43.

MRs on the UK-Continent saw consistent fixing activity this week pushing fixing rates upwards. TC2 surged 51.11 points to WS284.44 and likewise TC19 appreciated to WS293.57 (+52.5).

In the US-Gulf, the MRs were fiery early in the week with sentiment and activity driving rates upwards only to then recorrect back down. TC14 settled at WS287.5 end of the week after reaching WS305. Similarly, TC18 reached WS408.33 to then end up at WS388.33. At these levels TC14 is achieving a round-trip TCE of over $30,000 /day and TC18 $48,000 /day.

Handymax’s in the Mediterranean saw a resurgence this week with TC6 gaining 30.63 points to WS218.13. In the Baltic TC9 dropped to WS326.79 (-14.64).

VLCC

VLCC rates turned around this week by recovering all the recent lost ground and continuing to head upwards. For the 270,000mt Middle East Gulf/China route almost 8.5 points was added at the latest assessment of WS88 (a round-trip TCE of $50,600 per day), while the rate for 280,000mt Middle East Gulf/USG (via Cape of Good Hope) gained 4.5 points to WS49.

In the Atlantic, rates for 260,000mt West Africa/China were catapulted 9.5 points up to almost WS89 (about $52,500 per day round-trip TCE). For the 270,000mt US Gulf/China market, rates continued on the upward trajectory and are now $818,750 firmer at $9,937,500 (showing a round-trip TCE of $41,700 per day).

Suezmax

Rates for 135,000mt Black Sea/Augusta picked up this week, gaining almost 6.5 points to a shade over WS182.5 (a round-trip TCE of $74,500 per day). For the 130,000mt Nigeria/UKC trip rates climbed nearly 10 points to in excess of WS135 (a round-trip TCE of about $39,000 per day). In the Middle East, the rate for 140,000mt Basrah/West Mediterranean continued to hover around the WS64-65 level.

Aframax

The Mediterranean market continued to slide downwards early in the week. However, it is now starting to show signs of recovery. The rate for 80,000mt Ceyhan/West Mediterranean dipped to about WS145 early on, and is now assessed at about WS149 (a round-trip TCE of $27,100 per day) – still showing a nett loss of 6.5 points week-on-week. In Northern Europe, the market eased with the rate for 80,000mt Hound Point/UK Continent slipping three points to just below WS151 (a daily round-trip TCE of $30,300) and the rate for 100,000mt Primorsk/UK Cont route coming down 2.5 points to between WS177-180 region (a round trip TCE of $47,800 per day).

Across the Atlantic, the market has bounced back after stagnating. The rate for 70,000mt EC Mexico/US Gulf rose 28 points to WS 285 (a round-trip TCE of $66,200 per day). For the 70,000mt Caribbean/US Gulf trip the rate improved 25.5 points to between WS265-267.5 (a daily round-trip TCE of $54,900). For the Transatlantic route of 70,000mt US Gulf/UK Continent, the rate climbed 15 points to WS225 ($41,500 per day round-tip TCE).
Source: The Baltic Exchange

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