LaycanDeskMR, LR1 & LR2 Product Tanker Chartering
Medium and long range product tankers for gasoil, jet, gasoline and naphtha cargoes and period employment. MR, LR1 and LR2 product tankers on voyage, trip and period time charter for clean petroleum products between the Arabian Gulf, India, East and West Africa, the Red Sea and Southeast Asia: gasoil, jet fuel, gasoline, naphtha and dirty products on ships that have carried them last.
Product tankers are sized by range. An MR, medium range, is about 45,000 to 55,000 dwt and carries a 30,000 to 40,000 tonne clean cargo into most refinery and terminal berths in the world; LR1s of about 55,000 to 80,000 dwt and LR2s of 80,000 to 120,000 dwt carry the long-haul naphtha and jet cargoes east and the larger gasoil parcels into Africa. All are coated, with IMO III notation in most cases, and the last three cargoes decide what a ship can load next: a gasoline cargo after a dirty product needs cleaning that may not fit the laycan. Period charters of six to twelve months are how traders, bunker suppliers and national oil companies secure a ship for a supply contract, a coastal distribution programme or a floating storage need.
A product tanker enquiry is fixed on the product and its specification, the quantity, load and discharge terminals with their draft, manifold and hose arrangements, the laycan, the freight basis, Worldscale or lumpsum on spot and a daily hire on period, and the charterer of record. We ask charterers for those, and for the last-cargo and vetting requirements their terminal will apply, then go to owners with a cargo or a period they can price. On the tonnage side we hold Q88s and open positions for MR and LR tankers and put them against clean and dirty product enquiries as they come in, with the owner's approval of the charterer before any ship's name goes out.
Cargoes
- Gasoil and diesel
- Jet fuel and kerosene
- Gasoline and blending components
- Naphtha and condensate
- Fuel oil and dirty products (DPP)
- Period charters for supply contracts and storage
Lanes we work
- Arabian Gulf and Red Sea to East Africa
- India and the Gulf to Southeast Asia
- West Africa coastal distribution and period employment
- Mediterranean and Black Sea to West Africa
Questions charterers and owners ask
What is the difference between an MR, an LR1 and an LR2?
Deadweight, and therefore the cargo they carry. An MR of 45,000 to 55,000 dwt lifts a 30,000 to 40,000 tonne clean cargo into most terminals. LR1s run to about 80,000 dwt and LR2s to about 120,000 dwt and carry the long-haul naphtha, jet and gasoil cargoes, subject to the draft at the discharge berth.
Why do you ask for the last three cargoes?
Because they decide whether the ship can load the next one at all. A gasoline or jet cargo after a dirty product needs tank cleaning that may not be practical inside the laycan, and most terminals require the last cargoes on the vetting questionnaire before they accept a ship.
Do you fix product tankers on period charter?
Yes. Six to twelve month time charters for a supply contract, a coastal distribution programme or storage are a normal part of the work. Owners will want the intended trading area, the products, the charterer's name and the delivery and redelivery ranges before they give a hire idea.
What do you need from an owner?
The Q88, or at least IMO number, flag, class, year built, tank coating and number of grades; current position and open dates; the last three cargoes; SIRE status; and a freight or hire idea for a typical cargo or period. Nothing goes out under the ship's name until the owner has approved the charterer.