Asian Fuel Tanker Rates Extend Drop

Asian Fuel Tanker Rates Extend Drop on Maintenance Shutdown
By Katherine Espina

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian rates for shipping 55,000 tons of gasoline, jet fuel and other so-called clean petroleum products fell for a sixth day as maintenance shutdowns by refineries left less of the products available for shipment. xxx Shipment cost of products to Japan from the Middle East on so-called Long Range 1, or LR1 ships, dropped 0.8 percent to Worldscale 175.85, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. The cost of carrying 30,000 tons of gasoline, naphtha and jet fuel from Singapore to Japan dropped 0.4 percent to Worldscale 169.79.

Oil tanker rates on Asian routes have been falling as oil refineries conduct maintenance work and demand slowed with the Easter holidays. The cost of hiring oil tankers may fall for the next two years because of the rush of vessels, New York-based consultant McQuilling Brokerage Partners Inc. said in February. Tankers carry more than 40 percent of the world's seaborne trade.

``There were few significant changes to report in the market east of Suez, perhaps because of the pause created by the recent Easter holidays,'' Oslo-based shipbroker Fearnleys AS said in its weekly report. The rate of shipping 55,000 tons of products to Japan from the Middle East was around Worldscale 175, down 5 Worldscale points from a week before, according to the report.

The rate of shipping 75,000 tons of oil products to Japan from the Middle East was unchanged for a second straight day at Worldscale 134.58.

Aframax Tankers

Shipment fee for 80,000 tons of crude oil on Asian routes fell for a fourth day in a row. The cost of shipping crude oil on so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait dropped 1.9 percent to Worldscale 173.08, based on data from the Baltic Exchange.

Aframax tanker rates on the route from Indonesia to Japan, were unchanged for a fourth day at Worldscale 170, according to Bloomberg data. It was last seen at this level in December.

Worldscale points are a percentage of a nominal rate, or flat rate, for a specific route. Flat rates, quoted in U.S. dollars a ton, are revised annually by the Worldscale Association in London to reflect changing fuel costs, port tariffs and exchange rates.