Rates for suezmaxes gained ground on Tuesday as ships faced delays transiting the Dardanelles.
The Baltic Exchange's benchmark TD6 route for Black Sea-Mediterranean voyages reached World Scale (WS) 117.95 Tuesday, a jump of WS 4.45 from yesterday and a 59% increase since the beginning of the month.
On a time-charter equivalent rate basis, the Baltic marked the TD6 route at $43,000 per day, up from $14,740 per day at the start of November. The jump in the TD6 pushed the overall suezmax rate assessment up to $36,600 per day, which was a level last seen in September.
Suezmax rates have gotten a boost this month with reports of increased enquiry for chartering out of Libya, which is looking to restart its oil exports.
But there is going to be some tighter supply as tankers face delays in the Turkish Straits, said MJLF researcher Court Smith. Tankers are looking at four to five delays currently due to fog.
Two tankers are scheduled for northbound transit through the Straits with 15 tankers waiting. One the southbound transit, three tankers are scheduled with 20 tankers waiting.
Such delays are a regular seasonal occurrence. Last November, suezmax rates on the TD6 spiked above $60,000 per day as ships faced delays up to 10 days on the Dardanelles, the most difficult transit of the Turkish Straits.
