SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts launches LNG Ballast Rate assessments, freight updates

London (Platts)--2Jul2018/847 am EDT/1247 GMT

Effective July 2, 2018, S&P Global Platts has launched two new Ballast Rate assessments to value the return leg of journeys reflected in its current Asia Pacific and Atlantic Day Rate LNG spot freight assessments.

Platts has incorporated these assessments and updated several other components of its LNG netbacks and freight cost calculations, published in Platts LNG Daily and on Natural Gas Alert page 1025.

ASSESSMENTS: Platts has launched two Ballast Rate assessments, one for the Asia Pacific basin and one for the Atlantic basin. Each Ballast Rate assessment is published with the relevant Day Rate assessment and is expressed as a percentage of the Day Rate assessment for the relevant basin. These assessments reflect the value typically charged by ship owners to charterers to position vessels for a spot voyage. Ballast Rates, sometimes known as a "ballast bonus," will be assessed using all available data from the spot markets, including lump sum amounts.

BALLAST RATES IN FREIGHT CALCULATIONS: Platts has incorporated these Ballast Rate assessments into its calculations for the return legs of freight route costs. The rates replace the old practice of assuming round-trip economics at 100% of Day Rates for all voyages.

BOIL-OFF CALCULATION UPDATED: Platts amended the basis of the boil-off calculation reflected in freight route costs. It now reflects the loaded volume of LNG in calculations, rather than the vessel's total capacity. Platts reflects loaded volume only, or 98.5% of vessel capacity, and falls to 25% while in port, in its freight calculations.

UPDATED CONVERSION FACTOR: Platts uses a factor of 23.0 in its conversion of cubic meters to MMBtu for loaded LNG in its freight assessments and calculations.

PORT COSTS IN NETBACKS: Platts added port costs to the total cost calculation for its netbacks. Platts has incorporated the port costs shown in the table below into the corresponding freight cost calculations:

Load port costs: Discharge port costs: Ras Laffan $120,000 Futtsu $120,000 Dampier $200,000 Guangdong $125,000 Point Fortin $60,000 Dahej $40,000 Bonny $900,000 Huelva $240,000 Arzew $160,000 Zeebrugge $130,000 Zeebrugge $130,000 Everett $300,000 Pampa Melchorita $200,000 Bahia Blanca $0 Sakhalin $70,000 Salvador Bahia $140,000 Huelva $240,000 Ain Sukhna $225,000 Hammerfest $200,000 Sabine Pass $190,000

Platts continues to invite comments and queries to lng and pricegroup