Platts proposes to exclude Russian load ports from Baltic-UKC, Black Sea-Med clean tanker flat rate baskets

NOTE: This proposal note is a republication of an old subscriber note published on Oct. 21.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, proposes to change the basket of ports used in the dollar per metric ton calculations for its 30,000 mt Baltic-UKC, 40,000 mt Baltic-UKC, 30,000 mt Black Sea-Med and 30,000 mt Black Sea-UKC clean tanker assessments to exclude Russian load ports, effective Jan.3, 2023, to reflect changing trade flows in light of EU sanctions on Russian oil product imports which will take effect Feb. 5, 2023.

In markets where freight is traded on a Worldscale basis, Platts publishes freight assessments in points, which reflect a percentage of the prevailing Worldscale annual flat rates.

Platts also publishes equivalent $/mt freight rates for these markets, based on a basket of Worldscale flat rates comprising several key routes between the two regions specified in the assessment.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Bourgas, Bulgaria, has accounted for 42% of total clean tanker shipments from non-Russian Black Sea ports for discharge in the Mediterranean up until Oct. 20, according to ship-tracking data available to Platts, while Constanza, Romania, has accounted for 17.9%.

Meanwhile, during the same period, Porvoo, Finland, has accounted for 44.7% of total clean tanker shipments from non-Russian Baltic Sea ports for discharge in the UK-Continent region, while Klaipeda, Lithuania, has accounted for 12.6%, according to the data.

The proposed changes to the 30,000 mt Baltic-UKC flat rate basket are:

Proposed flat rate basket Current flat rate basket

Porvoo-Amsterdam Primorsk-Amsterdam

Porvoo-Thames

Klaipeda-Amsterdam

The proposed changes to the 40,000 mt Baltic-UKC flat rate basket are:

Proposed flat rate basket Current flat rate basket

Porvoo-Amsterdam Primorsk-Amsterdam

Porvoo-Thames Primorsk-Hamburg

Klaipeda-Amsterdam Primorsk-Dunkirk

The proposed changes to the 30,000 mt Black Sea-Med flat rate basket are:

Proposed flat rate basket Current flat rate basket

Bourgas-Beirut Novorossiisk-Marmara

Bourgas-Alexandria Novorossiisk-Mersin

Constanza-Beirut Tuapse-Agioi Theodoroi

The proposed changes to the 30,000 mt Black Sea-UKC flat rate basket are:

Proposed flat rate basket Current flat rate basket

Bourgas-Amsterdam Novorossiisk-Amsterdam

Bourgas-Rotterdam Novorossiisk-Rotterdam

Constanza-Amsterdam Tuapse-Rotterdam

The affected assessments are:

Assessment name Daily Code MAvg Code

Baltic-UKC 30kt $/mt TCAFK00 TCAFK03

Baltic-UKC 40kt $/mt TCAGK00 TCAGK03

Black Sea-Med 30 kt $/mt TCAAP00 TCAAP03

Black Sea-UKC 30 kt $/mt TCAAQ00 TCAAQ03

The affected assessments and related monthly average assessments are published in Clean Tankerwire and Clean Tankerwire Monthly; on Platts Shipping Alert pages 1320 and 1331, and Platts Tanker Alert pages 1910 and 1921; as well as in the Platts price database under the codes above.

Please send any feedback, questions or comments by Nov. 4 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 upon request.

Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.