Aframax tanker freight rates on the Kozmino-China route at a high
New sanctions against Russian entities, resulting in the blacklisting of over 180 ships, have led to a surge in demand for non-sanctioned tonnage, pushing Aframax tanker freight rates on the Kozmino (Russia) to China 100,000-mt route to an all-time high of $7 million on Jan. 21, 2025, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.
It elaborated:
This marked a staggering 324.2% increase, or about a fourfold rise, from $1.65 million on Jan. 2, setting a record since Platts launched the route on July 2, 2018.
From 2018 until the end of 2021, the average freight rate for the route was $560,000; however, rates surged above the $1 million mark in mid-April 2022 and have not fallen below that level since.
The sustained increase was largely attributed to a sharp decline in ship availability, as stricter sanctions imposed by the EU and UK on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine discouraged many ships from calling at Kozmino.
Compounding this issue, Shandong ports have banned US-sanctioned tankers from entry, further exacerbating ship shortages. As a result, the supply of Aframaxes -- the primary ship type for transporting ESPO crude -- has been significantly disrupted, forcing charterers to pay a premium to secure non-sanctioned tonnages, according to sources, S&P Global Commodity Insights said in its communique.
Source: Exim News Service: London, Jan. 21