LaycanDeskCrude oil tanker chartering
VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax crude stems on Worldscale voyage terms, time charter and COA. Freight for crude oil in bulk: VLCCs of 200,000 to 320,000 dwt carrying about 2 million barrels, Suezmaxes of 120,000 to 200,000 dwt carrying up to 1 million barrels and Aframaxes of 80,000 to 120,000 dwt, fixed on Worldscale voyage terms, time charter or contracts of affreightment, from the US Gulf, Brazil, Guyana, West Africa, the Red Sea and Canada's west coast to China, Europe and the Americas.
Crude moves in three ship sizes and the load port usually decides which. A VLCC of 200,000 to 320,000 dwt lifts about 2 million barrels, a Suezmax of 120,000 to 200,000 dwt up to 1 million barrels on a draft of about 23 metres, and an Aframax of 80,000 to 120,000 dwt the smaller parcels that most shallow terminals can take. Draft is the constraint: in the US Gulf the offshore LOOP port is the only facility able to take a fully laden VLCC, and cargoes from other Gulf terminals are topped up by reverse lightering in open water; at Vancouver, Aframaxes loading pipeline crude at Westridge have been limited to about 80 per cent of capacity by the channel depth at Second Narrows. Offshore production loads differently again. Guyana's FPSOs discharge to export tankers, mostly Suezmaxes, and Brazil's pre-salt fields in the Santos Basin load DP shuttle tankers or transfer to VLCCs with DP crude transfer vessels. East of Suez, a laden VLCC bound for the Mediterranean discharges part of her cargo at Ain Sukhna into the SUMED pipeline, transits the Suez Canal at reduced draft and reloads at Sidi Kerir.
Spot crude is fixed on voyage terms against Worldscale: the Worldscale Association publishes a flat rate for each load and discharge combination, reset every year, and the freight is agreed as a percentage of it in WS points. The usual forms are ASBATANKVOY and the oil majors' own voyage forms such as Shellvoy and BPVOY, with 72 hours total laytime Sundays and holidays included typical for loading and discharging and demurrage per running hour after that; despatch is not paid in the tanker market. Period business goes on SHELLTIME 4 or BPTIME3, and repeated liftings on a contract of affreightment. Owners fix only ships that pass the charterer's vetting, now SIRE 2.0 under OCIMF, and charter parties carry the BIMCO sanctions clauses and, where a cargo falls under a price-cap regime, a price attestation obtained before loading. Send us load and discharge ports or terminals, laycan, grade and quantity in barrels or tonnes, API gravity and pour point so the owner can plan heating, the vetting approvals the ship needs, and the charterer of record. Crude sale offers backed by tank storage receipts and dip tests are a common fraud, so the desk works crude freight only for a named charterer of record with a stated cargo interest, and screens every enquiry before an owner sees it.
How it ships
- VLCC ~2 million bbl, 200,000–320,000 dwt
- Suezmax up to 1 million bbl, 120,000–200,000 dwt
- Aframax 80,000–120,000 dwt
- Reverse lightering, FPSO offloading and DP shuttle tankers
- Heating coils for waxy, high-pour crude
Load areas
- US Gulf (LOOP, Corpus Christi, Houston)
- Brazil (Santos Basin offshore)
- Guyana (FPSO offshore)
- West Africa
- Red Sea (Yanbu) and Oman
- Canada west coast (Westridge, Vancouver)
Discharge areas
- China
- UK-Continent and North Europe
- Mediterranean via SUMED (Sidi Kerir)
- Panama (Chiriqui Grande)
- US Gulf (LOOP)
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
VLCC, Suezmax or Aframax: which does my cargo need?
Start from the parcel and the ports. About 2 million barrels is a VLCC, about 1 million a Suezmax, and smaller parcels an Aframax. Then check draft at both ends: many terminals cannot take a laden VLCC or Suezmax, which is why US Gulf cargoes are reverse lightered and why Vancouver Aframaxes have loaded part cargoes.
How does Worldscale pricing work?
The Worldscale Association publishes a flat rate in US dollars per tonne for each voyage, reset annually. WS 100 is that flat rate; a fixture at WS 80 pays 80 per cent of it. Current market levels are reported in the Baltic Exchange dirty tanker routes such as TD3C, TD20 and TD25.
What are the usual laytime terms?
On ASBATANKVOY and similar forms, 72 hours total laytime, Sundays and holidays included, for loading and discharging together, with demurrage per running hour once it runs out. Some forms halve demurrage for delays caused by fire, strikes or breakdowns at the terminal. Despatch is not paid in the tanker market.
Why does the desk ask for the charterer of record?
Because genuine crude moves under producers' term contracts and through national oil companies and majors, while offers built on tank storage receipts, dip tests and advance fees are a known fraud pattern. An owner fixes a ship to a named charterer that passes screening and whose cargo interest is stated; an enquiry without one is not put to owners.