Europe-Asia MR demand surged in April
The amount of naphtha and gasoline moving from Europe to east Asia on Medium Range (MR) tankers rose sharply in April, because of tight availability of alternative Long Range 1 (LR1) and Long Range 2 (LR2) tankers.
Charterers booked 26 MRs to take a combined 806,000t of products from northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and the Baltic and Black Seas to Singapore and northeast Asian destinations, the largest number of MRs booked on the route in at least the past four years, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.
Around 368,000t of naphtha loaded in April, up from around 304,000t in March. No more than 145,000t had loaded on that route in any other month in the past four years.
A shortage of available LR1 and LR2 tankers in Europe was partly caused by a strong ramp-up in Persian Gulf loadings in recent weeks, following the end of extensive refinery maintenance in the first quarter. Floating storage demand also absorbed LR tonnage and supported rates in the Mediterranean.
Charterers opting to take MRs to northeast Asia faced higher $/t freight on several occasions.
Demand for the smaller class could continue, with ongoing strength in LR2 freight rates in the Mideast Gulf against falling MR rates. The Mideast to UK continent LR2 rate increased by $400,000 yesterday to $8mn; MR freight rates from the UK continent have fallen by more than half since last week.
By Nicolas Kyriakoglou
source: Argus Media
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