The freight rates of ships transporting oil products have skyrocketed, in the wake of the crisis in the Middle East, urging shipowners to make new deals in the secondary market.
According to an analysis prepared on behalf of “Naftemporiki” by Irini Diamantara and Dimitris Roumeliotis, executives of the shipping brokerage house Xclusiv Shipbrokers, the Baltic Clean Tanker Index, which records the course of freight rates in the market for tankers transporting oil products reached 1,139 points on January 22, the highest point since April 4, 2023.
Due to the geopolitical tension, ship companies have rerouted around the southern tip of Africa, avoiding the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, increasing the miles and reducing the availability of spot cargoes.
According to a recent report by “Naftemporiki”, this rerouting is estimated to lead to a 5.6% growth in demand per tonne-mile for product tankers.
An LR1 tanker (75,000 dwt capacity) on the Middle East Gulf – Japan route fetched 66,440 US dollars per day on January 22, the highest rate since January 2023, Xclusiv Shipbrokers said. On January 4, the daily freight amounted to 34,543 US dollars and on December 4, 2023, it stood at 16,771 US dollars.
Accordingly, daily rates for an MR1 tanker (37,000 dwt capacity) on a Rotterdam to New York route reached 37,250 US dollars per day on January 22, the best performance since early April 2023. Rates have risen significantly from 7,501 US dollars daily on January 4 and 23,652 US dollars per day on December 4.
Brokers told “Naftemporiki” that this “jump” in freight rates has urged ship owners, including Greek ship owners, to proceed with deals in second-hand tonnage.
The latest Xclusiv Shipbrokers report recorded a total of seven product tanker sales deals in the last week.
