Aframax News

Greek shipowner Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN), Ltd. announced it another vessel sale as part of its ongoing fleet renewal program.Sold was the aframax tanker Izumo Princess, the first in a series of eight pioneered-designed vessels the company built between 2007 and 2010.The sale will add approximately $37 million to the company’s cash balances, TEN said.“Following the sale of nine tankers over the last 12 months with an average age of 18.5 years, this subsequent 10th transaction…

Malaysia’s MISC Group has entered into time charter party (TCP) and shipbuilding contracts for the development of world’s first two ammonia dual-fuel Aframax oil tankers.The TCP contract has been signed with Petronas' PETCO Trading Labuan Company (PTLCL), through MISC Group's petroleum arm AET.Using these vessels, PTLCL will be able to transport its products to customers around the world while contributing to the industry decarbonization by utilizing ammonia as the cleaner alternative…

Rising oil tanker chartering rates due to global shipping disruption are forcing oil shippers to take on longer-term shipping charters, executives said this week at an energy conference in Houston.The global oil tanker fleet must now travel further to get crude to refineries and fuel to consumers. European sanctions have forced Russian exporters to send oil to Asia that would have otherwise gone to Europe. Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have forced some shippers to sail around…

The BIMCO Tanker Shipping Market Overview & Outlook February 2024 by Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, forecasts that the supply/demand balance will tighten further during both 2024 and 2025.Low fleet growth, along with increasing sailing distances, create the foundation for the improvement despite a slowing of growth in oil demand. The product tanker supply/demand balance is also expected to tighten in 2024 but weaken in 2025. Like the crude tanker market, longer sailing distances support demand growth despite slowing oil demand.

Russia exported more than 700,000 metric tons of oil products from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in 2023 using small river barges because of a lack of bigger tankers owing to EU sanctions and price cap limitations, market sources said and LSEG data showed.Some ship owners have avoided Russian ports since the EU embargo and price cap on Russian refined oil products went into effect in February last year, forcing shippers to turn to a so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers.The shadow fleet has supported the flow of Russian barrels…

As many as 35 oil tankers that usually carry crude or fuel oil could switch to carrying cleaner products like diesel and jet fuel in the next two months as shipowners chase higher profitability, oil analytics firm Kpler said in a LinkedIn post.An LR2 (long-range 2) type tanker typically carries cargoes of about 90,000 metric tons of cleaner fuels.

Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) on Monday announced it has sold one of the older vessels in its fleet, noting it plans to sell additional vessels in the near future.The 164,608 dwt suezmax tanker Eurochampion 2004, built at South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2005, was sold to an undisclosed buyer in a deal expected to contribute approximately $40 million to the TEN’s cash balances, the Greek shipowner said.In announcing the sale, TEN noted its management is in continuous discussions for further vessel sales in the near future.The company also announced it has taken delivery of two 115…

Frontline announced it has reached a deal to sell its five oldest very large cruse carriers (VLCC) to an undisclosed buyer for an aggregate net sale price of $290 million.The vessels, built in 2009 and 2010, are expected to be delivered to the new owner during the first quarter of 2024.After repayment of existing debt on the vessels, the transaction is expected to generate net cash proceeds of approximately $207 million, and the Company expects to record a gain in the first quarter of 2024 in the range of approximately $68 million to $76 million…

Oil and fuel tanker traffic in the Red Sea was stable in December, even though many container ships have rerouted due to attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, a Reuters analysis of vessel tracking data showed.The attacks have driven up shipping costs sharply along with insurance premiums, but have had less impact than feared on oil flows, with shippers continuing to use the key East-West passage. The Houthis, who have said they are targeting Israel-bound vessels, have largely…

Greek shipowner Performance Shipping Inc. announced it has signed two shipbuilding contracts with China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd. (CSTC) and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (SWS) for the construction of two 114,000 DWT LNG-ready LR2 Aframax product/crude oil tanker vessels.The newbuilds, expected to be delivered in January and April of 2026, were ordered at a purchase price of US$64,845,000 per vessel, net of third-party commission. 15% of the purchase price is payable upon receipt of a refund guarantee…

AD Ports Group in collaboration with KazMorTransFlot (KMTF), the national shipping company of Kazakhstan, has announced the acquisition and commencement of operations of two tankers designed for the transportation of Kazakhstan's oil across the Caspian Sea.The two oil tankers were named Liwa and Taraz - after ancient cities in the UAE and Kazakhstan, respectively, and have been acquired under AD Ports Group’s joint venture with KMTF - Caspian Integrated Maritime Solutions (CIMS).The two vessels represent a combined investment of USD35 million…

Performance Shipping, a shipping company specializing in the ownership of tanker vessels, has entered into a time charter contract with ST Shipping & Transport Pte Ltd., for the 2010-built, 105,304 dwt, LR2 Aframax oil product tanker, the M/T P. Aliki. The gross charter rate will be based on a fixed floor rate of US$45,000 per day for a period of minimum of four months to a maximum of five and a half months at the charterer's option, plus a 50/50 profit share provision above the floor rate. The charter started on June 26, 2023, and is expected to generate approximately a minimum of US$5.5 million to a maximum of US$7.5 million in gross revenue to Performance Shipping…

Marlink will install the Starlink LEO service for Athens-based ship manager Polembros Shipping, aimed at helping Polembros to extend its digital toolset to include the new LEO service to support crew welfare and remote technology.Polembros is already a user of Marlink’s hybrid network, including VSAT services across its fleet. The deployment of the SeaLink NextGen service is designed to provide faster throughput and lower latency to the company’s business and crew communications.Sealink NextGen combines GEO VSAT and MSS back-up with customers’ required mix of LEO or MEO connectivity…

Shell has cut crude oil imports at its Singapore refinery this month and is relying on smaller tankers after extending repairs at its single buoy mooring (SBM) facility to June, according to government notices and shipping data.The company is moving crude from Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) onto smaller Aframax tankers through ship-to-ship transfers before discharging them at another jetty on Pulau Bukom, the island south of Singapore where the refinery is located, shipping…

“Second-hand crude tanker values for five-year-old ships hit bottom levels in late 2020 and have since increased by an average 67%. Over the past twelve eventful months values have risen by 34%, reaching their highest level in 25 years,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Crude tanker values saw their most recent low in December 2020 when Clarksons Research estimated the combined value of a five-year-old Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC was USD 138.5 mill. Twelve months ago, that valuation had risen to USD 172.0 mill. (+25%).

Russia has started to make ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of diesel near African ports as it seeks transatlantic sales, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.A full EU embargo on Russian oil products on Feb. 5 has boosted Russian diesel exports to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with STS loadings in the Mediterranean helping to shorten eastern routes. Last month, Russia sent about 1.0 million tonnes of diesel to African countries, some of which could be re-exported, traders said."Some volumes could be blended and resold or transshipped to reduce freight costs on the long routes," one trader said.About 42,500 tonnes of diesel…

Greek shipping company Performance Shipping on Wednesday announced it has signed a shipbuilding contract with China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company Limited for a newbuild LR2 Aframax product/crude oil tanker.The 114,000 DWT vessel was ordered for for a contract price of $62.6 million, net of commission to third party, Performance Shipping said. The company noted that 15% of the purchase price is payable upon receipt of a refund guarantee…

Tanker operator AET announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malaysia's PETCO Trading Labuan Company Ltd (PTLCL) to explore a potential collaboration to deploy a future zero-emission Aframax tanker powered by green ammonia.AET said it would be responsible for selecting a suitable shipyard to build the net zero-emission dual-fuel tanker, which would be delivered to PTLCL for long-term charter by 2026.The companies also intend to collaborate on the design…

Western sanctions on Russia have significantly reduced state oil revenues and diverted tens of billions of dollars towards shipping and refining firms, some with Russian connections.Most of the winners from the sanctions are based in China, India, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, at least 20 trading and banking sources said. A handful are partly owned by Russian companies.None of the firms is breaching sanctions, the sources told Reuters, but they have benefited from measures…

A 655,000-barrel cargo of Venezuelan heavy crude chartered by a unit of Italy's Eni SpA departed on Friday from a port operated by state-run PDVSA, shipping data showed, marking Venezuela's first export to Europe after a three-month pause.Eni and Spain's Repsol SA last year received U.S. authorizations to take Venezuelan oil to Europe as compensation for outstanding debt in an easing of American sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry.But the shipments were allocated intermittently last year. And so far this year most Venezuelan crude exports have been halted during a sweeping audit by new PDVSA boss Pedro Tellechea, who revised contract terms to avoid a series of failed payments by some customers.The Greece-flagged Aframax tanker Minerva Alexandra…

Venezuela will contract with an Iranian shipyard to build two oil tankers under an existing construction agreement bedeviled by payment delays and difficulties with needed certifications, according to people familiar with the matter and documents.Venezuela’s state-run energy firm PDVSA since last year has redoubled efforts to buy and lease oil tankers to rebuild its own fleet. Its maritime operations have suffered from a long-standing lack of capital and U.S. sanctions that have…

Europe's ban on seaborne Russian oil imports from Dec. 5 has prompted Moscow to divert its crude flows to Asia and failed to curb Russian supplies, according to traders and data from Refinitiv Eikon.Supplies of oil from Russia and Kazakhstan from the Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk rose in the first half of January to 3.4 million tonnes from 2.5 million tonnes in the same period of December.That includes 3.1 million tonnes of Russian oil, up 35% from 2.3 million tonnes in the corresponding period of December…

At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.China, the world's top oil importer, has continued buying Russian oil despite Western sanctions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched what they called a no-limit partnership before the war in Ukraine.The sources said a fifth supertanker…