Middle East Gulf clean tanker earnings jumped again this week, with LR2 owners on the 75,000-tonne MEG/Japan TC1 route earning $252,100 per day — up from $237,000 — as the worldpoint market for product carriers tightened while crude VLCC rates softened from record levels.

The TC1 75kt MEG/Japan index climbed 41.67 points to WS875.56. Westbound runs fared even better in absolute terms: the TC20 90kt MEG/UK-Continent index rose $662,500 to $17.27 million lump sum. Mediterranean/East business also strengthened, with the TC15 80kt index up $336,000 to $7.73 million and the corresponding Baltic round-trip TCE rising from $53,400/day to $59,600/day.

LR1s and MRs follow the trend

LR1s posted similar gains. The TC5 55kt MEG/Japan index added 40.31 points to WS890, lifting the round-trip TCE from $171,700/day to $182,300/day. The TC8 65kt MEG/UK-Continent run rose approximately $829,000 to $12.03 million.

Medium-range tankers saw the sharpest percentage moves in several trades. The TC17 35kt MEG/East Africa index surged 99.29 points to WS847.86, pushing earnings from $91,700/day to $107,500/day. In the Atlantic, the MR picture was more mixed but still positive. The TC2 37kt ARA/US Atlantic Coast index edged up 11.67 points to WS161.11, with the round-trip TCE rising from $1,350/day to $4,202/day. The TC14 38kt US Gulf/UK-Continent route climbed 22.86 points to WS254.29, worth $25,800/day against $20,600/day a week earlier. The TC21 38kt US Gulf/Caribbean run gained $110,700 to $785,700, with TCE up from $14,100/day to $21,100/day.

The MR Atlantic Triangulation Basket TCE increased from $28,400/day to $34,800/day — a level that keeps US Gulf MRs comfortably above breakeven on cross-Atlantic employment.

Handysize product carriers recorded the week's standout individual move. The TC6 30kt Cross-Mediterranean index jumped 64.83 points to WS250, nearly tripling earnings from $10,400/day to $29,100/day. The TC23 30kt Cross UK-Continent index rose 22.78 points to WS251.11, with TCE up from $18,800/day to $26,000/day.

VLCCs ease off historic highs

Crude tanker owners saw rates soften slightly in the Middle East. The benchmark TD3C route (270,000 mt Middle East Gulf to China) eased from WS1,165 last Friday to WS1,157.5 on Thursday — still a daily round-trip TCE of $1,235,414 for the standard Baltic VLCC. TD34 (Gulf of Oman to China) slipped about 6 points to WS797.86, a round-trip TCE of $864,698/day.

The Atlantic told a more divided story. West Africa/China (TD15, 260,000 mt) shed 22 points to WS511.88, worth $507,060/day round trip. US Gulf to China (TD22) moved in the opposite direction, gaining another $500,000 to just over $52.5 million lump sum — a daily round-trip TCE of $407,100.

Suezmaxes soften, Aframaxes roar

Suezmax rates fell across all Baltic routes. TD20 (130,000 mt Nigeria/UK Continent) dropped 18 points to WS435, or roughly $228,400/day. TD27 (Guyana to UK Continent, 130,000 mt) lost 27 points to just shy of WS437, worth about $232,800/day. TD33 (145,000 mt USG/UKC) shed 26 points to WS365.83, just over $225,700/day. The Black Sea held firmer: TD6 (135,000 mt CPC/Augusta) held around WS500, showing roughly $368,000/day.

Aframaxes delivered the crude sector's strongest performance. In the North Sea, TD7 (80,000 mt Cross-UK Continent) gained 112.5 points to WS416.67 — nearly $306,600/day basis Hound Point to Wilhelmshaven. In the Mediterranean, TD19 (80,000 mt Cross-Mediterranean, basis Ceyhan to Lavera) rose 132 points to WS557.78, worth about $289,400/day.

Across the Atlantic, the market continued its rollercoaster on an already firm base. TD26 (70,000 mt East Coast Mexico/US Gulf) rose 64 points to about WS505, just over $160,800/day. TD9 (70,000 mt Covenas/US Gulf) gained the same 64 points to WS495, roughly $147,800/day. The trans-Atlantic TD25 (70,000 mt US Gulf/UK-Continent) outperformed the shorter hauls, jumping 113 points to over WS557.5 — almost $165,100/day basis Houston/Rotterdam.

Vancouver exports also strengthened. TD28 (80,000 mt crude Vancouver to China) rose by over $100,000 to just over $7.8 million, a round-trip TCE of just under $151,800/day. TD29 (80,000 mt Vancouver to Pacific Area lightering point off the US West Coast) added a further 15 points to WS467.5.

What it means for the market

For refiners and product traders, the clean spike translates directly into higher freight costs on MEG export routes precisely as East-of-Suez tonnage tightens — a cost that will feed into delivered product prices in East Africa and Asia. Crude charterers, by contrast, retain near-record negotiating weakness: even after this week's softening, TD3C earnings above $1.2 million per day leave refiners paying historically exceptional freight on Middle East barrels.

The split sets up a divergent trajectory: clean strength appears demand-driven and broad-based across vessel classes, while VLCC softening so far looks like consolidation at extraordinary levels rather than a reversal. Whether Aframax strength in the Atlantic spreads to the largest crude vessels will depend on cargo volumes through the Middle East Gulf in the coming weeks.