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Freight Charges News

15 Jun 2023

Supertanker Freight Rates Jump as Mideast Crude Exports to Asia Rise

©Carabay/AdobeStock

The costs of chartering supertankers to move crude oil from the Middle East to Asia have jumped to the highest since April as more cargoes are being booked in June, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.The rate for a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) from the Middle East to China, Japan and Singapore is assessed at just above worldscale 80 on Thursday, according to shipbroking firm Meiwa International, the highest levels since April. Worldscale (W) is an industry…

25 Feb 2022

Oil Tanker Rates are Soaring

©alexyz3d/AdobeStock

Oil tanker rates are soaring globally as traders scramble to cope with jitters over possible disruption in Russian supplies, as well as war risk premiums for ships plying the Mediterranean region following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.Shipowners are also grappling with higher fuel costs after oil prices soared nearly $2 per barrel on Friday, with Brent back above $100. The global energy sector is concerned that Europe and the United States may impose sanctions on Russian exports and severely disrupt supplies.

04 Nov 2021

Japanese Shipping Companies Reap Big Profits Amid Supply Chain Chaos

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Japan's biggest and third-biggest shipping companies, reported record quarterly profits as they benefited from higher freight rates amid the chaos hitting global supply chains.The logjams and bottlenecks in the world's trade system, which threatens to derail a recovery from the worst health crisis in a century, has provided a bonanza to such companies as freight rates soared to the highest since 2008. "Port and inland congestion did not improve due to a shortage of drivers for inland haulage…

12 Mar 2020

Booking Frenzy Sends Tanker Rates Soaring

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

The cost to transport oil on supertankers soared on Thursday as major producers scrambled to secure vessels to ship more crude in a bid to regain market share and buyers took advantage of plunging oil prices.Freight charges to ship oil in very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from the Middle East, which is home to the largest OPEC producers, to China, the world's top crude oil importer, nearly doubled overnight.VLCC tanker rates along the busy Middle East Gulf to China route jumped to about $160…

05 Dec 2018

Cargo Ships Caught in Russia-Ukraine Storm

Russia-Ukraine naval clash followed shipping holdups Ships bound for Ukrainian ports say they are held up while those bound for Russian ports go through.When the Island Bay cargo ship arrived from Beirut at the Kerch Strait, gateway to the Azov Sea, it sailed into a perfect storm of geopolitics and bad weather.The following day, Russia opened fire on three Ukrainian naval ships, impounded them and detained their sailors, some of them wounded. It then blocked the strait by putting a tanker underneath a new bridge it has built linking the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.While the world digested the implications of the Nov.

26 May 2017

VLCC Rates to Stabilise as Owners' Resolve Stiffens

VLCC's likely to struggle to break even for next two months; three-tier VLCC market weighs on sentiment. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are likely to become steady around the current levels as owners resist charterers' attempts to pull down hire rates with the emergence of a three-tier market, brokers said on Friday. That came as brokers said South Korean charterers GS Caltex/S-Oil failed to charter a VLCC at below 40 points on the Worldscale measure for a voyage from the Middle East to Korea as owners balk at hiring out their ships at a price equivalent to operating costs. That is equivalent to earnings of around $8,000 per day compared with daily operating costs of $7,500 for a 300,000 deadweight tonne VLCC.

21 Nov 2016

India Aims to Boost Low-grade Coal Sales While Global Prices High

India is trying to boost sales of its low-quality coal by offering more of the fuel at home and initiating steps to lower freight costs, while global prices are high, with the government hoping the moves will help cut imports. State-controlled Coal India, the world's largest miner of the fuel, has sharply boosted output in the past two years but has struggled to sell all of that due to softer domestic demand and the availability of superior-grade foreign coal at competitive rates, until recently. Benchmark Australian coal prices have more than doubled this year, helped by reduced Chinese mining and strong demand across Asia and Europe just when exporters cut output. But prices have begun to recoil this month as China eased restrictions on domestic mining.

05 Oct 2015

Transatlantic Eastbound Rates Fall

Transatlantic eastbound chemical freight rates dropped slightly this week on a continued lull in the spot market, ICIS reports  brokers as saying. It was the second drop in as many weeks. SPI Marine’s most recent weekly report said the lull might signal a bigger slowdown and “embolden charterers to believe the beginning of a weakened state has just begun”. Freight charges on 2,000-tonne cargoes fell to $82-87/tonne from $85-90/tonne previously. And 5,000-tonne cargoes slipped to $63-68/tonne from $64-69/tonne previously. The transatlantic eastbound leg remains by far the strongest shipping route in the Americas, though. Much of the traffic includes chemical tankers headed from Houston to the port complex of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA).

01 Jun 2015

India Okays Deal on Indo-Bangla Coastal Shipping

The Indian government has approved an agreement on coastal shipping between India and Bangladesh for cheaper cargo movements between them. “The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the agreement on coastal shipping between India and Bangladesh to carry out coastal movement of goods between the two countries,” said an official statement. The Indian ports serving as trans-shipment ports for Bangladesh cargo will derive benefits by way of enhanced throughput as a result of Indo-Bangladesh coastal trade, it said, adding that both the nations shall render the same treatment to the other country's vessels as it would have done to its national vessels used in international sea transportation.

21 Apr 2015

Cheaper Fuel to Boost Container Shipping

Photo: Tanner Matheny

Lower oil prices are sharply reducing the cost of shipping merchandise from Asia to the United States and Europe as the cost of bunker fuel tumbles. Container shipping companies deal with the volatility in fuel prices by adding a separate bunker adjustment factor or fuel surcharge to their freight rates. Fuel can account for more than 60 percent of the total operating costs of moving freight across the oceans so the surcharges are one of the most important elements of total transportation costs.

31 Aug 2012

Asian Shippers Face Rise in Ocean Container Freight Rates

All Asian shippers wil have to pay higher freight charges to European container ship operators from September 2012. From September 1, Denmark-based Maersk, the world's largest container line, will implement a general freight increase of 250 U. S. dollars per TEU and 500 U.S. dollars per FEU on all shipments from the Far East to the Indian sub-continent, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Taking a cue from Maersk, Emirates too has announced a freight increase of 200 U.S. dollars per TEU on shipments between the Far East/ South-East Asia and the Indian sub-continent. The Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's second largest container line, has announced peak season surcharge and bunker surcharge from September 1.The peak season surcharge of 300 U.S.

13 May 2004

U.S. Cargo Preference Billing

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Transportation released a report stating that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) is required to reimburse the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for “excess” ocean freight costs that food assistance programs incur in order to comply with cargo preference statutes. There is a dispute between MARAD and USDA regarding how to calculate the amount owed. USDA recently billed MARAD $379 million in excess freight charges. OIG reviewed the billing in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and concludes that MARAD owes USDA a total of $164 million, rather than the $379 million billed. Report Number FI-2004-057 (HK Law).

01 Nov 2000

Oil Freight Charges To Go Higher?

Bloated oil freight charges could surge yet higher this year, adding to the already inflated cost of world oil imports, shippers said. Tanker brokers are predicting a mid-November stampede to ship crude from the Middle East, pushing charter rates to new peaks amid a perceived shortage of quality vessels. In January, very large crude carriers (VLCCs) sailing from the Gulf to Japan were fetching a price of worldscale 49, equivalent to 75 cents a barrel. The rate since has more than trebled and now stands at WS 165, $2.50 a barrel. For a 250,000 ton, or 1.8 million barrel shipment, that means an increased freight charge of $3 million on a $50 million cargo of crude. "Eastern charterers have been paying higher rates," said one VLCC broker. Rates for a 280,000 tonner to the U.S.

02 Feb 2001

Low Freight Rates Cut Costs for Importers

Oil freight costs that have fallen sharply from record peaks two months ago are helping reduce energy import bills already eased by lower crude prices. Tanker market experts said freight charges that rocketed to unexpected heights in November looked set to remain under control over the next six months at least. Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) delivering crude to Japan and Singapore from the Middle East now charge about Worldscale 85, $1.40 per barrel, having peaked last November at W190, $2.65 a barrel. Supertanker rates to the United States also are lower at about $2.30 a barrel from the Gulf $3.20 a barrel in November. "More new ships will be coming in…

17 Apr 2001

Malaysia Mulls Second Shipping Line

Malaysia reportedly may set up a second national shipping line to help reduce freight charges between the peninsula and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island, as traders in the two east Malaysian states had complained about high freight costs. "The proposal has come from the Ministry and the Cabinet is actively studying it," an official said. Malaysia International Shipping Corp., controlled by state oil firm Petronas, is currently the country's sole national shipper.

14 Mar 2005

Port of Houston- Fuel surcharge Increase

Effective March 17, 2005 local barge companies in the port of Houston will increase their fuel surcharge to 20% of all bunker delivery freight charges. Harbor fees, tariffs, demurrage and other fees, applicable to the bunker delivery, will not be subject to this fuel surcharge. This pass through cost will apply to any new bunker orders delivered by Chemoil March 17th or later.

01 Aug 2005

Liability of Third Party on Bill of Lading

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that a third party can be liable on a bill of lading based on its conduct. In the instant case, a cargo owner arranged for shipment of frozen fish and prepared a bill of lading naming itself as the shipper. The consignee orally agreed to pay to the carrier the applicable freight charges. The cargo was shipped and the consignee paid the freight charges. The cargo owner arranged a second shipment in the same manner and the consignee again agreed to pay the freight charges. The cargo was delivered, but the freight charges were not paid. The carrier brought suit against both the shipper and the consignee.

13 Nov 2006

Tanzania Plans $44m Project to Handle Large Ships

According to reports, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) will undertake a $44 million joint venture project to replace the existing Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility to handle bigger oil vessels and an increased volume of crude oil at the Dar port. The joint venture, which is expected to commence in 2008, will see partners in the investment contribute equity and possibly manage and operate the SPM facility in collecting the revenue. Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) officials, said the proposed facility will have the capacity to handle both bulk and refined liquid products. The TPA expects the new facility to provide increased revenue in addition to improvements in quality of service, safety, efficiency and the capacity to handle bigger vessels.