Indian crude ports see lower Aframax PDA costs in H1 2026 amid mixed trade growth

Port disbursement account costs fell across India's major crude ports in the first half of 2026 (January-June), even as crude trade volumes showed sharply different trends at individual locations.

Platts Base Rates from S&P Global Energy, compared PDA costs at Jamnagar, Mumbai, Mundra, New Mangalore, Vadinar and Visakhapatnam in H1 2026 against H1 2025.

Among the assessed ports, Vadinar recorded the largest reduction in PDA costs, which fell 34% year over year to $53,432 in H1 2026 from $80,884 in H1 2025, according to data sourced from Platts Base Rates. The fall coincided with a 43% increase in crude trade volumes to 9.36 million mt, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

Mumbai recorded the highest PDA cost in H1 2026 at $200,086, about 15% higher than Mundra's $174,364, 49% above Visakhapatnam's $133,839, 64% higher than Jamnagar's $121,910 and nearly four times Vadinar's $53,432.

The PDA analysis found that the largest contributor to the decline in Mumbai's PDA was a nearly 50% reduction in pier dues. However, pilotage charges increased to about $59,907 in H1 2026 from $36,541 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, New Mangalore's crude volumes edged down 5% year over year to 3.51 million mt, accompanied by a 3.5% decline in PDA costs to $112,074. Major cost components remained broadly stable, with pilotage charges rising marginally while harbor and port dues declined by around 13%, the PDA analysis showed.

At Mundra, total PDA costs in H1 2026 declined by only $1,231, or 0.7%, indicating a largely stable cost environment year over year. Pilotage charges fell 25%, while berth hire charges increased and remained one of the largest cost components. New charges, including sustainability fees of $1,746 and pipeline charges of $2,984, were introduced in 2026, partly offsetting savings from lower pilotage rates.

Trends in Aframax

Vadinar recorded the highest trade volume in 2025 at 16.12 million mt, up 13% from 14.26 million mt in 2024, according to CAS data. This made Vadinar the clear leader among the assessed ports, handling nearly double the volume of New Mangalore and more than eight times that of Mumbai.

Combined, the six ports handled 38.36 million mt of crude in 2025, down 1.9% from 39.11 million mt in 2024.

The comparison of H1 2025 and H1 2026 crude and refined product imports across major Indian ports indicates that lower port costs generally coincided with stronger trade growth, although the relationship was not uniform across all locations.

Strong volume growth at Mumbai, Vadinar and Visakhapatnam was accompanied by lower PDA costs, while Mundra and New Mangalore recorded weaker trade volumes despite reduced port expenses.