Clean Is Good Handymax Activity Picks Up As Do Rates

Long-haul trans-Atlantic clean tanker rates are moving up faster than short- haul rates from the Caribbean to the US Gulf. The cause of this is a combination of rising U.S. import and falling clean products production in Venezuela. Moving more product from a source further away does wonders to rates. The following chart shows weekly assessed rates for two popular clean routes – UKC to US – and Caribbean to US. But these are weekly assessments, in terms of individual fixtures, some have been as high as WS 340 on the UKC to US trade. Download here