Platts to change cargo size for cross-Caribbean Suezmax dirty tanker assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will change the cargo size basis for its 150,000 mt cross-Caribbean Suezmax dirty tanker assessment, effective Oct. 3, 2022, to better reflect the shift in spot loadings in the Caribbean.

Platts first proposed this change in a subscriber note published July 21, 2022 here.

The proportion of spot fixtures on a 145,000 mt basis on the cross-Caribbean route has been steadily increasing since 2019, comprising 41% of total observed fixtures on this route in 2019 to 77% so far in 2022, as the market aligns with the wider US Gulf Coast market that primarily sees fixtures negotiated on a 145,000 mt basis. This also comes amid the beginning of crude production and exports from Guyana in late 2019, with the majority of loadings from Guyana typically done on a 145,000 mt basis. Loadings from Covenas, which also accounts for a significant share of the cross-Caribbean market, have also shifted to primarily a 145,000 mt basis since 2020, and comprise all observed spot fixtures from Covenas so far in 2022.

The change will affect the following assessments:

These assessments appear on Platts Global Alert pages 1972 and 1971; on Platts Shipping Alert pages 2440 and 2441; in the Dirty Tankerwire and in the Platts price database under the codes above.

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