Rates for 2mn bl very large crude carriers (VLCCs) loading out of the US Gulf coast (USGC) began pushing higher on Tuesday after a sharp spike at the start of the week, boosted by increasing demand for crude cargoes bound for Asia-Pacific, among other destinations.
The rate to ship 270,000t of crude from the USGC to China rose by $1.9mn on Monday to $12.25mn lumpsum, including $250,000 Corpus Christi load-port fees. That rate, equivalent to $5.88/bl for crude benchmark WTI, was the highest level since 22 December, and only 97¢/bl below the more than three-year high reached in October 2025, according to Argus data.
That level repeated on Tuesday after SK Energy put the Almi Hercules on subjects for a USGC-South Korea voyage at $12mn, excluding load-port fees.
Transatlantic levels also pushed higher after an uptick in chartering activity. Equinor on Tuesday put the Amphritrite on subjects for a USGC-UKC voyage at $6mn excluding load-port fees. The deal included an option to discharge in China though one market participant noted the latter option was likely at a "throwaway" rate. The USGC-Rotterdam VLCC rate began this week at $5.25mn lumpsum including load-port fees, an increase of $250,000 from the end of last week.
VLCC demand accelerated over the past week as market participants fully emerged from end-of-year holiday activity, sapping available tonnage in a similar vein to activity out of the Brazil, Mideast Gulf and west Africa segments.
The rally in the VLCC market already began rippling to the midsize segments, a factor which should continue through this week at least. The increases come with mounting pressure, as little more than a month remains before the arrival of the lunar new year. That will eventually prompt more shipowners and charterers to cover positions before the holiday, which will run from 15-23 February in China.
Venezuela outlook adds to sentiment
The recent developments around Venezuela following the US capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro are likely to support dirty tanker rates as well, according to several market participants.
Executives from Trafigura and Vitol said on 9 January they were ready to start selling Venezuelan crude, with Trafigura saying it was loading a cargo this week. Another market participant said they expected Trafigura or Vitol to deliver a 1mn bl cargo of Venezuelan crude to India by March.
"Many [are] quite confident still that most Venezuelan [crude] will continue to move on VLCCs, unsanctioned now," a separate market participant told Argus.
VLCC shipowners have thus far held back given the ongoing situation, and early on several oil and gas companies signaled hesitation to return to Venezuela given the possibility of future losses.
