Large Tankers Are Cleaning Up Their Act

23 Feb 2017:  Long Range 1 (LR1) and Long Range 2 (LR2) product carriers are the coated version of their crude oil relatives Panamaxes and Aframaxes.  Although these large product carriers have been around for a long time, it is only in the last 10 – 15 years that they have become a significant factor in the clean product trades, as long-haul product trades have taken off.  Initially, the Middle East to Asia naphtha trade employed most of these vessels, but over the last 5 – 10 years, more regions and more products have gotten into the act.  In today’s weekly opinion, we will cover the key trades that these vessels are currently employed in as well as highlight the changes from 2015 to 2016 based on APEX trade data. Please Fill out the form to read the article.