Tanker Market: Rates Remained Elevated in April
Hellenic Shipping News
anker rates remained elevated during the month of April, but mostly lower from their earlier record highs, OPEC, said in its latest monthly report.
In April, trade disruptions continued to impact dirty tanker spot freight rates. While price assessments on routes out of the Middle East remained elevated amid limited activities and a high degree of uncertainty, VLCC spot freight rates elsewhere declined from the record highs seen the month before. On the West Africa-to-East route, VLCC spot freight rates were down 26%, m-o-m, but were still 129% higher than the same month last year. The decline came as trade flow disruptions reduced tanker demand on key routes, boosting availability in the other regions where trade was ongoing.
A similar dynamic caused Suezmax spot freight rates to moderate from the previous month’s elevated levels. On the USGC-to-Europe route, rates fell 23%, m-o-m, as higher rates in the previous month drew in tankers from areas with diminished activities. Aframax spot freight rates around the Mediterranean gave back much of the previous month’s gains, falling 17%, but were higher on the other monitored routes. Clean tanker spot freight rates strengthened further, amid trade flow disruptions and the need to source alternative supplies. Cleans spot freight rates on the Singapore-to-East route rose 36%, m-o-m, while rates around the Mediterranean were up 21% over the same period.
Dirty tanker freight rates
Very large crude carriers (VLCC)
VLCC spot freight rates on active routes fell back from the record high levels seen the month before. This contrasted with price assessments on routes impacted by the disruptions, which continued to rise amid limited activity and a high degree of uncertainty. Combined, this allowed VLCC spot freight rates to increase, on average, 12%, m-o-m, and 479%, y-o-y.
On the Middle East-to-East route, rates were assessed at WS550 in April. This represents a m-o-m increase of 27% and an 802% jump compared to the same month last year. On the Middle East-to-West route, spot freight rates were assessed at WS211, indicating an increase of 15%, m-o-m, and 539%, y-o-y. However, VLCC spot freight rates on the more active route from Yanbu to Northeast Asia have declined steadily over the month, averaging around WS172, which is closer to rates seen in the first two months of this year. On the West Africa-to-East route, spot freight rates fell 26% to average WS142. Compared with the same month in 2025, rates were up 129%. The decline came as trade flow disruptions reduced tanker demand on key routes, boosting availability in the other regions where trade was ongoing.
Suezmax spot freight rates moderated from the previous month’s record high levels due to a similar dynamic. On average, Suezmax rates fell 23%, m-o-m, but remained 130% higher than the same month last year.
On the West Africa-to-USGC route, spot freight rates in April averaged WS227, down 24%, m-o-m, but 127% higher than the same month last year. Rates on the USGC-to-Europe route registered a similar decline, falling 23%, m-o-m, to average WS219. This was despite estimates showing record high crude exports from the USGC in April of as much as 5 mb/d. Similar to the higher vessel class, the decline in Suezmax rates came as idle tonnage on disrupted routes gravitated to the active trading in the Atlantic. Y-o-y, however, rates were still up 131%.
Compared with the volatility in other vessel classes, Aframax spot freight rates were broadly balanced, dropping just 1%, m-o-m, on average. The East of Suez market saw gains amid increased spot demand, while higher tanker availability in the West of Suez market limited upward pressure on rates. Compared with the same month in 2025, rates were still elevated, standing 120% above year-ago levels. Amid the need for regional importers to source alternative supplies, spot freight rates on the Indonesia-to-East route rose 17%, m-o-m, to average WS262. Y-o-y, rates on the route were up by 93%.
On the Caribbean-to-US East Coast (USEC) route, rates increased 2%, m-o-m, to average W530. Compared with the same month last year, rates increased 151%.
In contrast, Cross-Med rates returned some of the strong gains seen the month before, falling 17%, m-o-m, to average WS339. Compared to the same month of 2025, spot rates on the route were up 90%. In contrast, rates on the Med-to-Northwest Europe (NWE) route still posted a 1% m-o-m increase to average WS401. Compared with the same month in 2025, rates were 133% higher.
Clean tanker freight rates
In contrast to the dirty tanker market, clean spot freight rates rose across all monitored markets. East of Suez rates outperformed West of Suez rates, although both posted gains. East of Suez rates rose 47%, m-o-m, on average, while West of Suez rates were up 19%, m-o-m.
Compared with the previous year, East of Suez rates increased by 191%, while West of Suez rates increased by 156%. Rates on the Middle East-to-East route were assessed at WS549 on average, up 54%, m-o-m. Unlike in the dirty tanker market, price assessments for more active routes in the Middle East show spot rates at higher levels, m-o-m, for much of April, implying that the underlying clean tanker demand remained supportive. Compared with April 2025, rates were 287% higher. Clean spot freight rates on the Singapore-to-East route rose 36%, m-o-m, to average WS317. Y-o-y, rates on the route were up 103%.
Clean rates on the NWE-to-USEC route rose a further 14%, m-o-m, to average WS274, and increased 88%, y-o-y. Rates on both the Cross-Med and Med-to-NWE routes rose 21%, m-o-m, to average WS516 and WS526, respectively. Y-o-y, spot freight rates were up 188% on the Cross-Med route and up 178% on the Med-to-NWE route.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
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