LaycanDeskMethanol freight to Japan - the US Gulf, Trinidad, Labuan, Brunei and Chile to Japanese terminals
IMPCA-grade methanol from the US Gulf, Point Lisas, Labuan, Sungai Liang and Punta Arenas to Japanese receiving terminals on methanol carriers and chemical parcel tankers. Japan imports all of its methanol, 1.45 million tonnes in 2025, and took 56 percent of it from Saudi Arabia (UN Comtrade); the Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted since 28 February 2026, leaving about 67,000 tonnes a month to replace. The desk works the lane on the open producers, the Pacific or Panama routing, and the tank coating and last cargoes of the ship.
Japan makes no methanol of its own and imported 1.50 million tonnes in 2024 and 1.45 million tonnes in 2025. Saudi Arabia supplied 808,300 tonnes of the 2025 total, the United States 216,200, Trinidad 195,100, Malaysia 98,600, Chile 68,000 and Brunei 45,900 (UN Comtrade). The Saudi tonnes load inside the Strait of Hormuz, so the replacement comes from producers Japan already buys from. The US Gulf has the capacity, with plants of 4.0 million tonnes a year at Geismar and 1.76 million at Beaumont in one producer's hands alone. Trinidad is tighter: one of its large plants is idled for lack of gas. Labuan in Malaysia is rated at 2.33 million tonnes a year and the same seller has marketed the Bintulu plant's output since January 2026; Brunei's plant at Sungai Liang makes about 850,000 tonnes a year and loads over a single-point mooring; Punta Arenas in Chile is running at about 1.4 million tonnes a year. Oman, outside the strait at Salalah and Sohar, sent Japan 38,500 tonnes in 2024. The posted Asia Pacific contract price for October 2026 was USD 700 a tonne.
From Southeast Asia the voyage is a week or so and suits parcel tankers; from the US Gulf and Trinidad it is a Panama Canal passage on a full-size methanol carrier, and from Chile a Pacific crossing. Methanol is fixed on its specification as much as on the freight: IMPCA grade asks for 99.85 percent purity on a dry basis, water at most 0.1 percent and chloride at most 0.5 milligrams a kilogram, so tanks, lines and pumps are presented clean and dry and the ship's last three cargoes are stated before she is put forward. Parcels of up to 20,000 tonnes go on chemical parcel tankers and full cargoes on MR-size tankers. Charterers send the producer and load terminal, the grade, quantity and tolerance, the Japanese receiving terminal with its draft and shore-line limits, laycan, payment basis, commission and the receiver of record. The receiving terminal is asked first, because Japanese methanol terminals are dedicated to their operators and the berth limits belong to the receiver.
Load terminals
- US Gulf: Geismar (4.0 Mt/yr) and Beaumont (1.76 Mt/yr)
- Point Lisas and La Brea, Trinidad
- Labuan (2.33 Mt/yr) and Bintulu, Malaysia; Sungai Liang, Brunei (about 850,000 t/yr, single-point mooring)
- Punta Arenas, Chile (about 1.4 Mt/yr run-rate); Salalah and Sohar, Oman
Discharge
- Japanese receiving terminals, dedicated to their operators
- Terminal, draft and shore-line limits named by the receiver in the stem
- Japan 2025: 1.45 Mt imported, 56% from Saudi Arabia (UN Comtrade)
- About 67,000 t a month to replace
Cargo and parcels
- IMPCA grade: purity min 99.85%, water max 0.1%, chloride max 0.5 mg/kg
- Parcels to 20,000 t on chemical parcel tankers
- Full cargoes on MR-size methanol carriers
- Asia Pacific posted contract price USD 700/t, October 2026
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
The cargo from the freight side
Questions charterers and owners ask
Where does methanol for Japan load now?
From producers outside the Strait of Hormuz that Japan already buys from. In 2025 the United States supplied 15 percent, Trinidad 13 percent, Malaysia 7 percent, Chile 5 percent and Brunei 3 percent (UN Comtrade), and Oman shipped 38,500 tonnes in 2024. Name the producer and the load terminal and the stem goes to owners.
What does the cargo need from the ship?
Clean, dry tanks, lines and pumps and a stated cargo history. IMPCA grade allows at most 0.1 percent water and 0.5 milligrams of chloride a kilogram at 99.85 percent purity, so the last three cargoes and the tank coating are given before the ship is put forward, and the shipper's surveyor passes the tanks before loading.
Parcel tanker or a full methanol carrier?
From Labuan, Bintulu and Brunei the voyage is short and parcels of up to 20,000 tonnes move on chemical parcel tankers. From the US Gulf, Trinidad and Chile the distance favours a full cargo on an MR-size methanol carrier, by Panama or across the Pacific. The receiving terminal's draft and tank space decide between them.
What must I send to get a named ship?
Producer and load terminal, IMPCA grade, quantity and tolerance, the receiving terminal with draft and shore-line limits, laycan, payment basis, commission and the receiver of record. Owners with coated or stainless tonnage opening in the US Gulf, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia or the Far East send name, IMO number, coating, last three cargoes and open tanks to desk-a005f1@in.laycandesk.com.