LaycanDeskAframax, Suezmax & VLCC Crude Tanker Chartering
Aframax, Suezmax and VLCC tonnage for crude and fuel oil cargoes on voyage and time charter. Crude oil tanker chartering from Aframax to VLCC: single-port and two-port crude and fuel oil liftings, contracts of affreightment and time charters, worked with the charterer of record, the loading terminal and the vetting position settled before any owner is asked.
Crude tankers are fixed by size against the terminal and the parcel. An Aframax of 80,000 to 120,000 dwt carries the 600,000 to 700,000 barrel parcels that most terminals can load and receive; a Suezmax of 120,000 to 200,000 dwt about a million barrels; a VLCC of 200,000 to 320,000 dwt two million barrels, loading at offshore terminals and single-point moorings and discharging at deep-water berths or by ship-to-ship transfer. Freight on the spot market is quoted in Worldscale, and the ship's vetting position, her age and her last discharge decide which charterers will take her at all.
A crude enquiry is fixed on the grade and its specification, the quantity in barrels or tonnes, the loading terminal and its restrictions, the discharge port or range with the option deadline, the laycan and the charterer of record. We ask for those, and for the vetting the charterer's terminal will apply, before the cargo goes to owners, and then we come back with named ships, positions and a Worldscale or lumpsum indication. Every counterparty, every loading terminal and every ship is screened against sanctions lists before an offer, and a ship whose recent calls cannot be explained is not put forward.
Cargoes
- Crude oil
- Fuel oil and residues
- Dirty petroleum products in bulk
- Contracts of affreightment
- Time charter and storage
Lanes we work
- Arabian Gulf to India and East Asia
- West Africa to India and the East
- Red Sea and Mediterranean lifting
- Ship-to-ship transfer areas
Questions charterers and owners ask
What sizes are an Aframax, a Suezmax and a VLCC?
An Aframax is about 80,000 to 120,000 dwt, a Suezmax 120,000 to 200,000 dwt and a VLCC 200,000 to 320,000 dwt. The terminal's draft and the parcel size decide the class: most terminals can work an Aframax, a VLCC needs an offshore mooring or a deep-water berth.
What is Worldscale?
The tanker industry's flat-rate schedule. A voyage is quoted as a percentage of the Worldscale flat rate for that route, so charterers and owners can compare freight across routes and ship sizes. Period charters and some short voyages are quoted as a daily hire or a lumpsum instead.
What do you need before a crude cargo goes to owners?
The grade, quantity, loading terminal, discharge port or range, laycan, the charterer's name and the vetting the receiving terminal will apply. A cargo without a named charterer or a named loading terminal is not put to owners.
Do you screen the ship as well as the charterer?
Yes, by name and IMO number, with her ownership and recent port calls. A ship that cannot account for her recent trading is not offered, whatever her certificates say.