SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts launches USGC-Europe Suezmax dirty freight assessments

S&P Global Platts has launched US Gulf Coast-UK Continent and USGC-Mediterranean freight assessments of dirty Suezmax tanker rates, effective April 1.

The new tanker assessments were first proposed in a subscriber note published February 14. (https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/021419-p latts-proposes-to-launch-usgc-europe-suezmax-freight-assessments). The new assessments reflect the increasing volume of crude exports in Suezmax tankers from the US Gulf Coast to Europe, following the lifting of the US crude export ban in December 2015.

The new assessments are assessed on a Worldscale basis and published as Worldscale points. Platts also publishes the equivalent US dollar per metric ton value for these assessments.

The new freight assessments are: USGC-UK Continent: This assessment reflects the cost of transporting a 145,000-mt cargo on a dirty Suezmax tanker from the US Gulf Coast to the UK Continent, for loading seven to 25 days forward. The assessment reflects loadings from Houston, Galveston Offshore Lighterage and Corpus Christi in Texas; and discharge at Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Fawley, UK.

USGC-Mediterranean: This assessment reflects the cost of transporting a 145,000-mt cargo on a dirty Suezmax tanker from the US Gulf Coast to the Mediterranean, for loading seven to 25 days forward. The assessment reflects loadings from Houston, Galveston Offshore Lighterage and Corpus Christi in Texas; and discharge at Cartagena, Spain; Trieste, Italy; and Lavera, France.

The symbols are as follows: Dirty USGC-UKC Suezmax 145kt $/mt: TDUKW00 Dirty USGC-UKC Suezmax 145kt Wsc: TDDUK00 Dirty USGC-UKC Suezmax 145kt cargo size: TDDUKSZ Dirty USGC-Med Suezmax 145kt $/mt: TDUMW00 Dirty USGC-Med Suezmax 145kt Wsc: TDDUM00 Dirty USGC-Med Suezmax 145kt cargo size: TDDUMSZ

The new assessments are published in Platts Dirty Tankerwire and in the Platts price database under the symbols listed above.

Please send all feedback or questions to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com. For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.