Lower Venezuela cargo demand weighs on Aframaxes

A drastic decrease in demand for Aframax loadings in Venezuela since February has caused Americas rates for the vessel class to stagnate near operating costs since the beginning of April.

Between 1 April and 15 August, the Caribbean-US Gulf coast rate for Aframaxes averaged $7.14/metric tonne, down 11pc from the same period in 2018, according to Argus assessments. And since 1 July, the rate has averaged $6.51/t, down 9pc from July 2018.

The stark decrease follows US sanctions against national oil company PdV issued starting in late January, which were phased in throughout the year. Only 41 Aframax crude cargo movements occurred out of Venezuela from February through July, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. In the same period in 2018 that number was 137.

Despite persistently weak Aframax rates in the Americas, very large crude carrier rates in the region rose to five-month highs on 9 August, and Suezmax rates rose to two-week highs on 15 August.