Asian Aframax Rate Drops First Time in 6 Days

Asian Aframax Tanker Shipping Rate Drops First Time in Six Days
By Katherine Espina
June 27 (Bloomberg)

The cost of shipping 80,000 metric tons of oil on Asian routes dropped the first time in six days as most bookings for early July have been concluded. Further declines may be limited as freights for the rest of the month are fixed.

The rate of shipping crude or fuel oil on so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait dropped 0.13 percent to Worldscale 154.42 yesterday, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Last week, it rose the most since March 30.

Asian freight rates for shipping oil on Aframax tankers increased 6 percent last week as charterers hired vessels to load fuel, brokers including London-based Galbraith's Ltd. said. Some owners of Aframax vessels expect rates to rise after vessel requirements for early next month have been fixed, Kats Nishikawa at shipbroker Matsui & Co. in Tokyo said.

``A number of fixtures have been concluded throughout the week and there are still plenty lined up,'' said Galbraith's in its report for the week ended June 22. ``This firmer trend looks set to continue next week.''

This week, four Aframax tankers are expected to arrive in Singapore and three more in the first week of July, according to AISLive on Bloomberg.

The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index, which tracks 12 routes, has fallen 21 percent this year. It fell 1.1 percent to 1041 yesterday, the second day the measure fell. The cost of shipping a barrel of oil on an Aframax vessel on the Kuwait-to-Singapore route stood at $2.01 yesterday, unchanged for a second day, according to Bloomberg data.

Indonesia, Japan Route

The Aframax tanker rate on the Indonesia-to-Japan route was steady at Worldscale 157.50 on June 22, the daily cost for the past 17 days, according to Bloomberg data. Shipping a barrel of oil on the route amounts to $1.84, little changed in the past three weeks, according to Bloomberg data.

The costs of shipping gasoline and other so-called clean petroleum products to Asia were mostly lower yesterday, according to the Baltic Exchange.

Shipping rate for 55,000 tons of products on the route to Japan from the Middle East dropped 0.9 percent to a four-month low of Worldscale 155.77, based on data from the Baltic Exchange. The rate has fallen 22 percent in the past 21 days.

The cost of carrying 75,000 tons of gasoline, naphtha or jet fuel from Singapore to Japan declined for a 12th day. The rate dropped 3.2 percent to Worldscale 124.17, the biggest drop since Jan. 23, Baltic Exchange data showed. The cost of shipping on the route fell 5 percent last week, the most in 11 weeks.

The rate of shipping 30,000 tons of oil products from Singapore to Japan rose 0.3 percent to Worldscale 198.96 yesterday, a second day of gains. It has slumped 33 percent this year.

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Asian Aframax Ship Rate Gains

Asian Aframax Ship Rate Gains May Be Limited on Rising Supply
By Katherine Espina
June 21 (Bloomberg)

Gains in the cost of shipping 80,000 metric tons of oil on Asian routes may be curbed in the next several days as the supply of tankers increases, brokers including Matsui & Co. said.

The rate of shipping crude or fuel oil on so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait climbed for a second day, gaining 1.7 percent to 148.27 yesterday, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Shipment cost on the route fell 1.2 percent in the week ended June 15, the first decline in three weeks.

``There will be many vessels available in the Singapore area in the early part of July so the market may stay the same or even move lower,'' Kats Nishikawa, general manager at the chartering team of Matsui & Co. in Tokyo, said by phone. ``Unless we see more activity in the Singapore area, the market may be softer.''

This month, there are 12 Aframax tankers sailing to Singapore, according to AISLive on Bloomberg. The cost of shipping crude on Aframax vessels to Asian routes has declined 7.4 percent this year as capacity expanded.

The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index, which tracks 12 routes, has fallen 19 percent this year. The cost of shipping a barrel of oil on an Aframax vessel on the Kuwait-to-Singapore route stood at $1.97 as of June 20, unchanged for the previous 19 days, according to Bloomberg data.

Japan Bound

The Aframax tanker rate on the Indonesia-to-Japan route was steady at Worldscale 157.50, the daily cost for the past 12 days, according to Bloomberg data. Shipping a barrel of oil on the route amounts to $1.84, steady for the past two weeks, according to Bloomberg data.

The cost of shipping gasoline and other so-called clean petroleum products to Asia declined yesterday, according to the Baltic Exchange.

The cost of shipping 30,000 tons of oil products from Singapore to Japan fell 0.6 percent to Worldscale 200.42 yesterday, the lowest in eight weeks. It has slumped 20 percent the past four weeks, based on data from the Baltic Exchange.

Shipping costs for 55,000 tons of products on the route to Japan from the Middle East dropped 2.2 percent to Worldscale 161.92, the lowest since Feb. 15. The rate has fallen 17 straight days.

The cost of carrying 75,000 tons of gasoline, naphtha or jet fuel from Singapore to Japan declined for an eighth day. The rate dropped 1.5 percent to Worldscale 131.46 yesterday, the lowest in four months, Baltic Exchange data showed. The cost of shipping on the route fell 3.2 percent last week, the second weekly decline.

Caribbean Tanker Rates Fall

Caribbean Tanker Rates Fall as Oil Supplies Jump, Plants Slow
By Todd Zeranski
June 20 (Bloomberg)

Rates to ship crude oil from the Caribbean basin fell as a U.S. Energy Department report indicated oil stockpiles increased and refinery utilization rates fell.

Two Aframax tankers, which each can transport about 600,000 barrels of oil, were hired today for an average rate in the industry standard Worldscale 145, according to a daily report from Houston-based shipbroker Lone Star, R.S. Platou.

Valero Energy Corp. contracted one tanker to ferry crude between St. Eustatius and the U.S. East Coast, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc contracted a ship to transport oil from the east coast of Mexico to the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to Lone Star.

Demand in the region is hampered by low refinery operating rates. Refineries operated at 87.6 percent of capacity last week, the lowest since the week ended March 30, according to the department. It was the lowest utilization rate for the period in 16 years.

Crude-oil inventories surged 6.9 million barrels to 349.3 million in the week ended June 15, the report showed. It was the biggest one-week gain since the week ended March 19, 2004.

Worldscale 145 is equivalent to about $20,280 per day after expenses such as fuel and port fees, according to New York-based- broker Poten & Partners.

General Maritime Corp., the second-largest U.S. tanker owner, has a break-even rate of about $12,000 a day. The New York-based company operates many of its vessels in the Caribbean.

Overseas Shipholding Group is the biggest U.S.-based oil- tanker owners.

Asian Aframax Rates May Extend Decline a Second Week

Asian Aframax Rates May Extend Decline a 2nd Week
By Katherine Espina
June 19 (Bloomberg)

The cost of shipping 80,000 metric tons of oil on Asian routes, which fell 1.2 percent last week, may extend its decline until charterers book their cargoes for July.

The rate of shipping crude or fuel oil on so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait declined 0.13 percent to 144.81 yesterday, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange.

Rates to ship crude on Aframax vessels to Asian routes last week dropped the first time in three weeks as capacity expanded. The cost of hiring Aframax tankers may rise or hold steady when more vessels are hired to load cargoes for July, shipbrokers including London-based Galbraith's Ltd. said.

There are 12 Aframax tankers sailing to Singapore this month and none for July yet, according to AISLive on Bloomberg.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates this week may release port-loading schedules for July crude shipments, stoking demand for supertankers.

That may lead to increased demand in the following weeks for Aframax vessels, which are predominantly deployed on short-haul routes or intra-regional trade and in harbors too small to accommodate supertankers.

The cost of shipping a barrel of oil on an Aframax vessel on the Kuwait to Singapore route stood at $1.97 as of June 18, unchanged for the previous 17 days, according to Bloomberg data.

Japan Bound

The Aframax tanker rate on the Indonesia to Japan route was steady at Worldscale 157.50, the daily cost for the last two weeks, according to Bloomberg data. Shipping a barrel of oil on the route amounts to $1.84, steady from the last two weeks, according to Bloomberg data.

The cost of shipping gasoline and other so-called clean petroleum products to Asia declined on June 18, according to the Baltic Exchange.

The cost of shipping 30,000 tons of oil products from Singapore to Japan fell 1.03 percent to Worldscale 202.88 yesterday, the lowest in almost eight weeks. It has slumped 20 percent the last four weeks, based on data from the Baltic Exchange.

Shipping costs for 55,000 tons of products on the route to Japan from the Middle East dropped 0.4 percent to Worldscale 168.46, the lowest in about four months. The rate fell 15 percent in the past four weeks.

The cost of carrying 75,000 tons of gasoline, naphtha or jet fuel from Singapore to Japan declined for a sixth day. The rate dropped 1.07 percent to Worldscale 135.42 yesterday, the lowest in about six weeks, Baltic Exchange data showed. The cost of shipping on the route fell 3.2 percent last week, the second weekly decline.

Aframax Tanker Rates From Indonesia

Aframax Tanker Rates From Indonesia May Rise on Utility Demand
By Christian Schmollinger
May 23 (Bloomberg)

The cost of shipping 80,000 tons of crude oil from Indonesia to Japan may increase on demand from power utilities.

The rate for so-called Aframax tankers sailing from Indonesia to Japan remained at Worldscale 147.5 for a tenth day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That pegs the cost of shipping a barrel of oil on the route at $1.73.

Charters are hiring more ships to transport Duri crude from Indonesia to Japan, where utilities burn the oil in their power plants, ship broker Kats Nishikawa said. South Korean demand for the grade for refining into low-sulfur fuel oil has grown on power demand, PVM Oil Associates Ltd. said in a report today.

``The market is firming up some,'' Nishikawa, general manager with Tokyo-based ship broker Matsui & Co. said in an interview yesterday. ``Especially for early June, you're seeing a lot of cargoes going from Indonesia to Japan and Korea.''

SK Corp., South Korea's biggest refiner, hired the KWK Esteem for June 4 to travel from Senipah port in Indonesia to Ulsan at Worldscale 148.5, said a report today from brokers Seatown Shipbroking Ltd.

GS Caltex Corp. and Hyundai Oilbank Ltd. hired Aframax tankers to sail from Dumai in Indonesia to South Korea at rates between Worldscale 149 and 150, said Seatown.

Kuwait to Singapore

The rate for so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait was unchanged at Worldscale 139.42, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. The cost of shipping on the route has fallen 5.5 percent since May 14.

Inventories of fuel oil in Singapore have surged to 15.2 million barrels, a six-month high, in the week ending May 16, according to government data. Imports of the product to Asia from the Middle East, called arbitrage shipments, have fallen as buyer demand has declined.

Shipping cost of gasoline and other clean petroleum products to Asia gained, according to the Baltic Exchange.

Shipping costs for 55,000 tons of products on the route to Japan from the Middle East rose to Worldscale 200 from 199.15, the highest in four months.

The rate to carry 75,000 tons of gasoline, naphtha or jet fuel from Singapore to Japan rose to Worldscale 139.17 from 138.13, the third straight day of gains, according to the Baltic Exchange.

The cost to ship 30,000 tons of oil products from Singapore to Japan remained at Worldscale 256.25, unchanged from the day before.

Caribbean Oil-Tanker Rates Rise

Caribbean Oil-Tanker Rates Rise on Short Supply, Bad Weather
By Todd Zeranski
April 18 (Bloomberg)

Rates to transport crude oil in the Caribbean basin rose on storms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and a shortage of ships to transport cargo slated for May delivery.

Five Aframax tankers, which can transport about 600,000 barrels of oil each, were hired today to the U.S. for a rate in the industry standard Worldscale measure of WS 183, according to a daily report from Lone Star, R.S. Platou in Houston.

That's an increase of 24 percent from the rate of WS 148 yesterday, according to data from Lone Star. The availability of ships to carry goods slated for May delivery is now ``scarce,'' driving up rates, according to a report from Fearnleys, an Oslo-based shipbroker.

WS 183 is equivalent to about $32,878 per day after expenses such as fuel and port fees, according to New York-based broker Poten & Partners. xxx

Three tankers were hired to move oil from the eastern coast of Mexico to the U.S. Gulf Coast by Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Another was hired by Valero Energy Corp. to travel from the Dutch Antilles to the U.S. East Coast. Petroleo Brasileiro SA hired a tanker to transport crude between the Carribean and the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to the Lone Star report.

General Maritime Corp., the third-largest U.S. tanker owner, has a break-even rate of about $12,000 a day. The New York-based company operates many of its vessels in the Caribbean.

Overseas Shipholding Group and OMI Corp. are the largest U.S.-based oil-tanker owners.

Asian Aframax Tanker Rates Drop

By Katherine Espina
April 18 (Bloomberg)

The rate to ship 80,000 tons of crude oil on Asian routes fell for a second day as refinery maintenance work cut oil demand, increasing ship supply.

The cost of shipping crude oil on so-called Aframax tankers to Singapore from Kuwait fell 1.1 percent to Worldscale 167.12, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange.

``In Asia, with refinery maintenance upcoming, cargo demand tailed off,'' said U.K-based shipbroker Simpson Spence & Young Ltd. in its latest weekly tanker report.

Refiners Nippon Oil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. are shutting down plants in Asia next month for scheduled maintenance work. In addition, Aframax rates may be tracking the recent fall in the Very Large Crude Carrier market brokers said. VLCCs can transport more than 2 million barrels of oil.

``For the VLCC market, rates last week continued to decline with an ample supply of double-hull tonnage available, few April cargoes left to fix and the market awaiting May cargo stems,'' according to the weekly report by Simpson Spence & Young, the world's largest closely held shipbroker. Refinery maintenance pushed Aframax rates for 80,000 tons of crude oil to Japan from Indonesia lower by 25 points to Worldscale 165, according to the shipbroker.

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.