Switched the window to the end of the week. As both FRO and HAFN reported their Q3 results, and offered their Q4 outlook, I am particularly interested in what is happening with vessel chartering.
Though Affinity Tankers is not my go-to broker for data, for this week and my intent, they provide good data. The report actually has a trio of routes I have not seen in the past (TD22, TD27, TC17).
What to make of the data?
- The routes are supplied by different sizes (MR on the clean side => VLCC on the dirty side). But, each of the vessels is earning enough to cover their operating costs.
- 260K/270K is a VLCC run, and the routes are all softer this week
- 70K/80K on the dirty side is an Aframax, and the routes are generally stronger
- Vessels in the dirty trade are usually larger. In general, the owners of the dirty-trading vessels are earning more per vessel run than their clean counterparts. Gross margins (dirty) >> gross margins (clean)