Freight
Overview
Oil, gas and dry cargoes are being shipped all over the world every day. With seaborne transportation comes exposure to shipping costs. Be it via direct cost or through the prices of feedstocks or finished products, a freight factor is always there. Highly sensitive to market shifts, geopolitics and regulations, freight is a complex and volatile part of every trade.
To manage this exposure, industry participants, from producers and traders to government agencies and financial institutions rely on our freight data for contracts, pricing formulas, analytics and arbitrage tracking.
Argus Freight consists of three dedicated services, covering trade flows for tankers, dry bulk and gas markets. Each service provides daily freight indexes, industry-specific news, market analysis and exclusive content. This enables you to connect the dots between commodity prices and shipping costs, giving you a complete view of the supply chain.
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Eight of 13 LNG vessels near Qatar sailing with AIS off
Eight of 13 LNG vessels near Qatar sailing with AIS off
London, 15 October (Argus) — A total of 13 LNG carriers were at or offshore Qatar's 64.2mn t/yr Ras Laffan LNG export terminal today, according to satellite imagery from Copernicus, despite AIS ship-tracking data from Vortexa showing only five carriers offshore Ras Laffan. This is up from 11 carriers holding offshore Ras Laffan on 5 October , indicating several inbound transits via the strait of Hormuz despite a ramp up in ship attacks around Hormuz this month. Eight of the 13 carriers were not sharing their location today, up from six out of 11 on 5 October. Two of the 13 carriers were loading at Ras Laffan today without broadcasting their location. The 13 carriers do not include the 216,000m³ Al Sahla , which was today docked at the Ras Laffan shipyard. Of the 13 carriers, seven are Q-Flex class of around 210,000-216,000m³, three are Q-Max class of 266,000m³, two are conventional sized carriers with a capacity of around 150,000m³ and one is a 174,000m³ two-stroke carrier, judging by the length of each vessel in the satellite image. This is a total carrying capacity of around 2.78mn m³. Transits via the strait have held strong relative to summer levels so far this month, supported in large part by an uptick in Qatari transits. There have been 11 carriers that have turned their AIS transponders back on so far this month after a likely transit via the strait of Hormuz, according to Argus tracking. The most recent transit is the 165,000m³ Seapeak Arwa , which turned its AIS on offshore Sri Lanka today, having been dark over the past month. The carrier was chartered by QatarEnergy for Hormuz transit, market participants said. A further seven carriers have departed anchorages in the Gulf of Oman, having spent at least 24 hours anchored, suggesting they may have received a cargo via transshipment, although this is unable to be verified. Four of the seven carriers have sailed to anchorages offshore Pakistan's Port Qasim or India's Mundra, both of which host LNG import terminals. The other three carriers immediately went dark in the Gulf of Oman, sailed south in the Indian Ocean, and signalled for Sri Lanka. By Martin Senior Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Mideast Gulf clean tanker rates hit record highs
Mideast Gulf clean tanker rates hit record highs
Singapore, 15 October (Argus) — Mideast Gulf clean tanker freight rates climbed to record highs on 14 October across Long Range (LR) 2, LR1 and Medium Range (MR) vessel types, as tight vessel availability and the shift of clean tankers into the dirty petroleum product (DPP) trade further tightened the market. LR2 and LR1 rates from the Mideast Gulf to Japan reached Worldscale (WS) 995 ($225.37/t) and WS980 ($221.97/t) respectively, on 14 October, the highest since Argus began assessing the route in November 2005, and remained at those levels on 15 October. The corresponding MR rate on the route climbed further to a record high of WS970 ($217.38/t) on 15 October, surpassing the previous high of WS882.50 ($197.77/t) set a day earlier and marking its highest level since Argus began assessing the route in December 2017. Vessel supply remains very tight with limited options available to charterers, freight market participants said. Shipowners who do manage to find cargoes for their vessels are consequently pushing for higher rates, they added. Robust crude tanker earnings have encouraged LR2 shipowners to dirty up in recent months, reducing available ships in the clean market just as Middle East product exports were recovering . A total of 113 LR2 tankers switched from clean to dirty trades in January-August 2026, compared with 67 during the whole of 2025, according to a Singapore-based shipbroking analyst. Mideast Gulf clean product exports rose above 3mn b/d in early September, with LR2 and LR1 loadings reaching 2.1mn b/d, according to Kpler. A string of attacks in the Mideast Gulf region since last weekend has added to pressure on vessel supply, making some market participants reluctant to send their vessels into the region. Recovering cargo demand and heightened security concerns have consequently increased competition for available clean tankers in the region. The switch to DPP trade has sharply reduced LR2 availability as crude Aframax earnings continue to significantly outperform returns in the clean LR2 market. Aframax earnings remain around $200,000-300,000/d above LR2 earnings, according to shipping analytics firm Kpler, limiting the incentive for vessels to switch back to clean trades. The attractive earnings is likely to keep clean LR2 tankers in the DPP market for longer. The tight LR2 market has also been reflected on westbound clean routes from the Red Sea and west coast India. Higher cargo availability from India, renewed European demand for distillates and persistent security risks in the Red Sea have supported rates, while the loss of LR2 ships to the DPP market has further restricted vessel availability. The elevated LR rates are also prompting charterers to look for alternatives. Market participants have heard of charterers attempting to cover cargoes on MRs, although much of the current activity is being concluded off market, with details not disclosed. Some charterers have also opted to split larger cargoes into multiple MR shipments, as the economies of scale typically offered by LR tankers have been eroded by the surge in freight costs. Market participants expect the current shortage of LR tankers and resulting shift towards smaller vessels to support MR freight rates in the coming months. By Sureka Elangovan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Two tankers hit near strait of Hormuz: Indian minister
Two tankers hit near strait of Hormuz: Indian minister
London, 11 October (Argus) — Two tankers were attacked on 11 October, one in the strait of Hormuz and the other at the Sohar anchorage offshore Oman, Indian ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal said. The 149,997dwt Suezmax tanker Valthera was hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire on board, Sonowal said. The vessel was carrying crude from Basrah, Iraq, having sailed on 8 October, Vortexa data show. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had earlier said that an outbound tanker transiting the strait of Hormuz had been struck by a projectile, causing damage to the vessel. The 3,922dwt small oil products tanker Petro Dolphin was hit by a drone at the Sohar anchorage on 11 October, Sonowal said. Two Indian seafarers are missing, according to the minister. UKMTO had earlier said that a tanker at the Sohar anchorage had been hit by an aerial drone. "India reiterates the need for immediate de-escalation and a resolution to the ongoing conflict through dialogue and diplomacy," the Indian foreign ministry said following the two incidents. "Attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers and civilian infrastructure must cease. Freedom of navigation and the safe, unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways, in accordance with international law, must be upheld." Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) navy claimed "a supertanker" had struck a naval mine after sailing through the strait of Hormuz with its navigation systems switched off on Sunday. Footage of the incident did not clearly resemble a mine explosion, and the circumstances of the incident and the cause of the fire were unconfirmed at publishing time. "All ships within the limits of the Strait of Hormuz that turn off their navigation and identification systems will be identified as hostile and will be dealt with severely and decisively," state news agency Isna said, quoting the IRGC Navy. Isna claimed there were three incidents over the weekend of tankers transiting "unauthorized shipping lanes" colliding with naval mines in the strait of Hormuz, but none of the incidents has yet been independently confirmed. By Andrey Telegin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
No plans to attack Iran before 3 Nov: Trump
No plans to attack Iran before 3 Nov: Trump
Washington, 8 October (Argus) — The US will not resume hostilities against Iran before the 3 November midterm congressional elections, President Donald Trump said on Thursday. The US is "having productive discussions" with Iran but the US naval blockade and campaign of economic pressure against Iran will continue, Trump said in a social media post. He claimed that 22mn bl of crude flowed through the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday under the protection of the US military. Trump's statement is not an ironclad assurance that direct hostilities between the US and Iran will not resume any time soon. Tehran has confirmed continued indirect dialogue with the US, through mediators, but chances of a diplomatic breakthrough appear low. Trump, meanwhile, is working to prevent a further increase in US retail fuel prices, which already have hurt the Republican party's chances of retaining control of both chambers of the US Congress at the midterms. WTI and Ice Brent crude futures climbed higher on Thursday after Iran expanded attacks on tankers in the Mideast Gulf and the strait of Hormuz. November Nymex WTI fell after Trump's statement, but it was still 4pc higher, at $91.65/bl, than the Wednesday settlement price as of 1:45pm ET. Iran has increased the pace of its attacks against commercial shipping in the last week, challenging the Trump administration's claim that it had restored oil flows through the strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels. The US-sponsored operation to enable transporting greater volumes of oil through Hormuz has significantly increased freight and insurance costs for the tankers that do make it to the Gulf of Oman without being hit by Iran. The Central Command (Centcom), which oversees the Middle East-based US forces, on Thursday pegged the daily flow of oil and other products through Hormuz at 20mn b/d. Centcom chief Admiral Brad Cooper, during a virtual meeting with the representatives of the freight industry "acknowledged the sacrifices made by civilian crews due to unwarranted Iranian attacks". The US Treasury Department, also on Thursday, announced sanctions on an additional 17 tankers accused of transporting Iranian bitumen, asphalt, ethylene, fuel oil, naphtha, propane and crude to markets in Asia. Treasury also announced sanctions against India-based broker Samudra Marine Services and 18 other companies in the UAE, UK, Turkey and other countries, accusing the firms of facilitating sales of Iranian crude and products. Do the midterms matter? Iran has been part of Trump's election narrative for about a month, as he claimed that Tehran is hoping for a victory by the US Democrats who, according to Trump, would be too soft on the Iranian government. Officially, Tehran has pronounced itself indifferent to the outcome of the US congressional elections. Tehran has pitched a plan to stop attacking ships passing through Hormuz if the US removes the naval blockade, pauses sanctions and repatriates frozen Iranian funds in foreign banks — effectively returning to the terms of the now defunct June "memorandum of understanding" between the US and Iran. Trump said earlier this month he rejected the proposal. But Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Thursday that the Iranian plan remains a subject of discussions. Trump encountered significant blowback in the US and the Mideast Gulf after concluding a deal with Iran in June, Washington think tank Arab Gulf States Institute executive vice-president William Roebuck said on 6 October. Trump as a result came to the conclusion that "he was better off leaning into the war through the midterms and not cutting a deal that would involve a lot of concessions that would reflect the kind of leverage that Iran had built up in the course of the the war," Roebuck said. US Democratic lawmakers earlier this year succeeded in advancing resolutions, with limited Republican support, that called on Trump to end hostilities with Iran. But even a majority-Democratic Congress cannot compel the White House to stop the war unless it votes down the Pentagon's request for supplemental funding to replenish the US munitions stocks and pay for other costs of the war — an issue that may not find broad support within the Democratic party. Trump appears to believe "that he'll be freer, actually, to do what he wants and to put more pressure" on Iran after the midterms, Roebuck said. "I don't think that's going to work, but that's the dynamic that (Trump is) working with." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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