Crude Oil, LNG, Refined Products, Maritime & Shipping, Fuel Oil, Bunker Fuel

December 18, 2023

Platts publishes 2024 Yearly Base rates for tanker freight assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched 2024 Yearly Base Rates from Dec. 18, basis conventional bunker fuel and LNG bunker fuel.

The base rates are a standardized estimate of the cost of moving a tanker for all assessed freight routes, with the exception of lump sum routes.

The calculation of the Base Rate has one established assumption, which is to list all the possible costs for the entire voyage and divide it by the deadweight tonnage of the standard vessel to arrive at the $/mt Base Rate, which equates to 100 points on the scale.

Platts Base Rates can be applied to calculate tanker freight rates basis points and dollars per ton as well as various product netback and net forward assessments, along with crude yield & netback prices.

The 2024 Yearly Base Rates are calculated using the average bunker price basis:

  • Singapore 0.5% Sulfur Marine bunker fuel for rates basis loading originating in the East of Suez: $619.44/mt
  • Rotterdam 0.5% Sulfur Marine bunker fuel for rates basis loading originating in the West of Suez (for non-ECA regions): $573.32/mt
  • Rotterdam 0.1% Low Sulfur bunker fuel for rates basis loading originating in the West of Suez (for ECA regions): $815.95/mt (Basis average price for period Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023)
  • LNG Bunker Fuel Singapore -- For rates basis loading originating in the East of Suez: $973.38/mt
  • LNG Bunker Fuel Rotterdam -- For rates basis loading originating in the West of Suez: $1057.38/mt (Basis average price for period Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023)

Platts also launched Port Disbursement Account or charges basis Aframax class tankers for ports that are used in the calculation of base rates HERE. (/content/dam/spglobal/ci/en/documents/platts/downloads/Port_Charges_Symbols.xlsx)

The Yearly Base Rates, published annually, will change in the event of a concerned port changing its Port Disbursement Account or charges.

Any proposal to change Base Rates will be communicated to the market through subscriber notes in advance.

Platts Dynamic Base Rates for routes originating in the West of Suez region follow the London holiday calendar and for routes originating in the East of Suez will follow the Singapore holiday calendar (https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/holiday).

Please send all comments 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 make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.