Spot rates for aframax tankers headed in different directions over the last week, with the North Sea market surging and the Caribbean trade losing ground.
Shipbroker Fearnleys assessed Worldscale spot rates for the route from the UK to continental Europe at WS 145 on Wednesday, up 18.4% from the same time last week.
“A combination of vessels ballasting, leaving a tighter list, and a relatively active spot market for end/early dates has seen ex-North Sea firm,” the Norwegian outfit said in a weekly report.
“Pushing into November stems, and with levels giving much improved returns, we may not see as much ballasting out in the short term and natural tonnage will come back into the frame, which should rebalance the available tonnage.”
The Baltic Exchange assessed time-charter equivalent rates for the spot market at $43,700 per day on Wednesday, a slight dip from the day before but a 67.9% surge from a week earlier.
The North Sea aframax market has not been above $40,000 per day since late June.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, rates for aframaxes moving from the Caribbean to the US Gulf Coast shed 7.2% to reach WS 160, according to Fearnleys.
Fearnleys blamed the “small correction” on rates for larger suezmax tankers, which kept a cap on aframaxes.
“The tonnage list is still well populated with quite a few different owners and vessels up until the end of the month,” the firm said.
Baltic Exchange data put TCE rates on the trade at $34,100 per day, an 11.7% slump from a day earlier and an 11% dip compared to Wednesday of last week.
The slump over the past week continues declines seen since Caribbean aframax rates surged to a peak of $59,900 per day in early October, which was the highest rates had been in that market since June.
Overall, the Baltic Exchange assessed average aframax spot earnings at $39,600 per day, a 4.6% dip since Tuesday but virtually unchanged from this time last week.
Average period charter rates, however, lost $1,000 over the week to hit $41,500 per day, Fearnleys said.
