Platts to launch USGC-UKC/Med VLCC dirty tanker assessments April 3

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch two daily 270,000 mt Very Large Crude Carrier dirty tanker freight assessments on the US Gulf Coast-to-UK Continent/Mediterranean routes, effective April 3, to provide transparency into this growing trade flow.

US crude exports to Europe rose 39% to 1.48 million b/d in 2022 compared with 2021, US Census data showed, amid changing trade flows following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with VLCCs taking an increasing market share. During the same period, USGC crude exports to Europe on VLCCs surged eightfold to 15.9 million mt in 2022 from 1.6 million mt in 2021, according to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

The proposed VLCC assessment will add to the Aframax and Suezmax freight assessments on the USGC-UKC/Med routes Platts launched March 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019, respectively. The assessments are detailed here and here.

The new VLCC assessments will be published on a lump-sum basis and their equivalent US dollar per metric ton value.

The new assessments will be:

VLCC US Gulf Coast to UK Continent 270, 000 mt: This assessment will reflect the cost of chartering a VLCC tanker carrying a cargo of 270,000 mt from the US Gulf Coast to the UK Continent, for loading 15-45 days forward. The assessment will reflect full 270,000 mt STS US Gulf Coast loadings, excluding the lightering costs and terminal charges for partial loads at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center and the South Texas Gateway terminals, and discharge at UK Continent ports, including but not limited to Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Fawley, Le Havre, Bilbao, and STS Southwold.

VLCC US Gulf Coast to Mediterranean 270, 000mt: This assessment will reflect the cost of chartering a VLCC tanker carrying a cargo of 270,000 mt from the US Gulf Coast to the Mediterranean, for loading 15-45 days forward. The assessment will reflect full 270,000 mt STS US Gulf Coast loadings, excluding the lightering costs and terminal charges for partial loads at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center and the South Texas Gateway terminals, and discharge at Mediterranean ports, including but not limited to Algeciras, Gibraltar, Marsaxlokk, and Marseille.

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