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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US Gulf VLGC rates hit record $305/t on war
US Gulf VLGC rates hit record $305/t on war
London, 15 May (Argus) — US Gulf very large gas carrier (VLGC) freight rates climbed to $305/t on the Houston-Chiba route this week, the highest since Argus began assessments in 2013. Demand has switched to the longer US Gulf-east Asia route to replace lost supply caused by the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. This shift led to a rush of bookings for May-loading cargoes, resulting in higher demand for Panama Canal transit slots and rising costs there. Some VLGCs were redirected on the longer Cape of Good Hope route. The rush of bookings has depleted much of the available tonnage in the US Gulf, but demand for LPG remains high with India and China facing significant shortages because of the lost Mideast Gulf supply. Chartering activity has continued in the US Gulf, but the rush of May bookings has left charterers competing for a rapidly shrinking pool of tankers, pushing the rates up. The Houston-Chiba rate hit $305/t on 13 May, with two fixtures around that level. That is more than double pre-war levels of $147/t, having accelerated through $248/t in late April and $293/t last week. The vessel shortage reflects the much longer journeys, not increased demand for VLGCs, as the loss of Mideast Gulf supply has reduced global product availability. Around half of the 120 VLGCs that loaded in the US Gulf in April were routed via the Cape of Good Hope after Neopanamax slot auction prices hit $1.076mn on 29 April — the highest since May 2024 and roughly four times pre-conflict levels. The longer routing adds more than 20 days to voyage times compared with the Panama Canal passage, occupying vessels for longer and slashing available tonnage ahead of the June loading window. Fixing activity has fallen sharply as a result with charterers securing around 24 spot and time charter bookings from the US Gulf for June to date — around one-third of the 52 fixtures completed in May — with fewer than 20 confirmed by mid-May compared with more than 40 each in the two preceding months. Vessel scarcity is likely to persist. Houston-Chiba rates are being sustained largely by exporters with long-term product contracts in place rather than by spot demand for LPG, with US supply largely unprofitable in Asia-Pacific at the current price and freight rate. Charterers have responded by swapping or delaying shipments and utilising vessels on long-term deals where available, and some traders have re-let vessels rather than use them for exports. The spot market has reached a stand-off, with remaining June cargoes likely to be fixed above the last-done level. The Ras Tanura-Chiba rate also continued to rise on limited options for east of Suez fixtures, reflecting broader vessel scarcity across the market. The underlying demand pull stems from the redirection of Asian LPG buying toward the US Gulf. Global seaborne LPG exports remain around 600,000 b/d below pre-war levels, sustaining the switch toward long-haul US Gulf loadings that has absorbed fleet capacity and compressed June availability. Conditions in the Mideast Gulf remain uncertain and the timeline for any resumption of normal shipping operations is unclear. Further rate gains are possible while June cargoes remain uncovered, although charterer reluctance to engage above current levels may cap any further gains. By Harry Heath Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran's Kharg Island loads 1st tanker in a week
Iran's Kharg Island loads 1st tanker in a week
New York, 14 May (Argus) — A tanker loaded crude from Iran's Kharg Island terminal Thursday, countering claims from the US that storage at the country's main oil export hub is full and loadings have stopped. The loading of the roughly 500,000 bl-capacity tanker at Kharg Island would mark the first loading there since 7 May, according to maritime information firm Windward. Earlier on Thursday, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on CNBC that there have been no loadings of crude from Iran in the past few days, and that the US believes Iran's oil storage is full. "None of the ships are getting out. None are coming in. So, they're not able to store oil on the water," Bessent said. But Iran still maintains significant capacity for storage on the water. Windward estimates that roughly 20 empty tankers are staged nearby to Kharg, with a combined estimated carrying capacity exceeding 25mn bl. "There are still plenty of cargo-empty tankers both inside and outside the blockade perimeter," vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com said on 12 May. And empty vessels continue to arrive at Iranian ports, adding to the country's storage capacity. A total of six empty oil and gas carriers have crossed the strait of Hormuz in violation of the US blockade last week without any reported interdictions, according to data from vessel tracking firm Vortexa. The US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports on 13 April in response to Iran establishing control over the strait of Hormuz after the 28 February start of the US-Iran war. The US' blockade has been successful in significantly curtailing Tehran's oil exports, but it has yet to send Iranian production into the steep decline predicted by US officials. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US blockade yet to cut deep into Iranian production
US blockade yet to cut deep into Iranian production
New York, 14 May (Argus) — The nearly one-month-old US blockade of Iranian ports has been successful in significantly curtailing Tehran's oil exports, but it has yet to send Iranian production into the steep decline predicted by US officials. Prior to the start of the blockade on 13 April, Iran's waterborne crude exports averaged about 1.8mn b/d. But since then Iran has not successfully exported any crude by sea, according to vessel tracking firm TankerTrackers.com, which defines exports as tankers which made it through the blockade line and have not returned with the oil. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees the Middle East-based US forces, claims that 67 commercial vessels have been redirected since the start of the blockade, 15 vessels supporting humanitarian aid were allowed to pass and four vessels were disabled to ensure compliance. But Vortexa data shows 88 vessels carrying energy commodities have circumvented the US' blockade, with nine reported interdictions by US forces. The impact of the blockade on crude production is less clear, however. US president Donald Trump on 26 April predicted that Iranian oil infrastructure would "just explode from within" in "about three days" because of the blockade, forcing oil well shut-ins. But days later Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohamed Ghalibaf mocked Trump's claim. "Three days in, no well exploded," Ghalibaf wrote on social media. "We could extend to 30 and livestream the well here." Iranian crude production in April fell by 130,000 b/d from the prior month to 2.95mn b/d, according to Argus estimates, but that decrease is among the lowest for Gulf producers . The modest April decline reflects both the mid-month start to the blockade and the ample available storage capacity onshore and offshore for Iran. As of the last week of April, Kpler assessed Iran's onshore usable storage at around 39mn bl, and available floating storage of about 4mn bl, giving it just over a month before having to shut in supply at current production levels — although it could make pre-emptive cuts before then. Vortexa put Iran's available onshore storage capacity at a little below 40mn bl, but highlighted a significant number of empty tankers which it said could be enough to sustain production at then-current levels for up to two months. But Consultancy FGE put Iran's available onshore crude storage capacity at nearly double those figures — at around 80mn bl — implying that Iran would be able to produce at current levels for a little over two months. US officials have repeatedly emphasized the dire economic impact the blockade ports is having on Iran. "The economic pressure that creates on them greatly outstrips the pressure on us," US defense secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate panel on 12 May. But Iran has shown little outward signs that it is ready to capitulate. The two sides have not returned to face-to-face meetings in weeks, and Iran characterized its most recent offer as "reasonable" and "generous" after Trump labeled it "totally unacceptable." By Charlotte Bawol and Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
IRGC widens Hormuz into ‘vast operational area’
IRGC widens Hormuz into ‘vast operational area’
Dubai, 12 May (Argus) — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it has widened its definition of the strait of Hormuz into a "vast operational area", extending it from the coast of Jask to Siri Island. The move broadens the area the IRGC says falls under its Hormuz operations beyond the narrow strait itself, through which around a fifth of global oil supply transited before the US-Iran war began. In a statement carried by Iranian state media, Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, said the strait of Hormuz had previously been "defined as a limited area around the Hormuz and Hengam islands", but that definition has now changed. "Within our new framework, the area of the strait of Hormuz has been significantly expanded, and today it extends beyond the large islands, from the coast of Jask to Siri Island." Iran's Siri Island lies in the Mideast Gulf around 70km west of the UAE emirate of Umm al-Quwain. The port of Jask is on Iran's southern coast, east of the strait of Hormuz. Akbarzadeh said the area had expanded from 20-30 miles previously to more than 200-300 miles. He described the new footprint as "a complete crescent". This is the second expansion the IRGC has announced since war with the US and Israel prompted Iran to effectively close the strait. On 4 May, the IRGC published two maps showing an expanded area it said was "under its management and control". The outlined area extended from the western tip of Iran's Qeshm Island in the Mideast Gulf to Umm al-Quwain west of the strait, and to Kuh Mobarak in southern Iran and the UAE emirate of Fujairah east of the strait. The area outlined on Tuesday by the IRGC Navy extends beyond the borders shown in the 4 May maps. The new definition comes as tensions between Iran and the US grow over the continued disruption of shipping. US president Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed agreements with Iran that he said should restore at least some traffic through the strait. But little has changed since the war began, prompting the US to impose a blockade of its own on vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports last month. Washington and Tehran have been exchanging proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the conflict, but prospects for a breakthrough appear remote. Trump on Monday described Iran's latest offer as a "piece of garbage" and warned that the ceasefire, in place since 8 April, is under strain. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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