Pyxis Tankers has fixed the 50,145-dwt MR product tanker Pyxis Lamda to CITGO Petroleum for 24 months at $31,000 per day, locking in roughly $21.8m in net charter revenue over the fixture's life and adding $8,000 per day to the vessel's current rate.

The Athens-based, Nasdaq-listed owner said the new contract begins after Pyxis Lamda completes its scheduled special survey and drydocking, which the company expects to wrap around November 20. The charter runs for 24 months, plus or minus 30 days at the charterer's option.

What does the fixture deliver for Pyxis?

The economics land squarely on the income statement. After 2.5% address commissions and assuming 720 earning days, Pyxis said the deal should generate approximately $7.7m in annualised EBITDA and $5.2m in annualised net income. That equates to roughly $2.8m of additional annual revenue after commissions compared with the vessel's existing $23,000/day employment.

For a company running a six-ship fleet split between MR product tankers and dry bulk, the rate step-up matters more than the headline. The Lamda moves from a level that left little cushion against operating costs to one that covers the special survey still ahead.

How does the fleet stack up?

The 2017-built Pyxis Lamda is one of three MR2 product tankers in the company's tanker book, alongside the 2013-built Pyxis Theta and Pyxis Karteria. Combined MR carrying capacity sits at just under 149,000 dwt. Pyxis also operates three dry bulk vessels that have no direct linkage to the CITGO renewal.

Pyxis, led by chief executive Eddie Valentis, said the renewal gives the owner longer earnings visibility on the Lamda at a time when product tanker markets remain firm. The CITGO relationship, in place before this fixture, gives the shipowner counterparty continuity for the duration of the deal.

What does the rate signal about MR markets?

At $31,000/day on a two-year time charter, Pyxis is moving the Lamda from its existing $23,000/day employment, an $8,000/day step-up the company says reflects continued firmness in product tanker markets. Premiums of this size on multi-year fixtures typically materialise when charterers want to lock tonnage ahead of seasonal maintenance and inventory cycles.

For CITGO, paying above the prior short-term rate on a two-year deal ties a 50,145-dwt MR2 to a single counterparty but removes exposure to short-term rate spikes. For competing owners, the fixture sets a fresh comparable for any MR2 product tanker coming open in the global charter market over the coming weeks.

What changes for shippers and forwarders?

A fixture of this length at this rate pulls another MR2 off the spot market, slightly tightening optionality for product shippers that prefer voyage charters. Clean petroleum product forwarders should expect less prompt MR tonnage availability into 2025 and 2026 while fixtures at this rate level accumulate.

Pyxis does not break out a contract-by-contract view of spot exposure, but the structure of the renewal — fixed for two years from mid-November — removes the Lamda from spot fixing for the duration.

Forward trajectory

With the Lamda due to roll onto its new contract within weeks, Pyxis's MR fleet will generate revenue at $31,000/day on roughly one-third of its tanker tonnage from November onward, lifting group EBITDA visibility through at least the fourth quarter of 2026. The next revenue question for the Athens-based owner is whether peer owners replicate this rate on Pyxis Theta and Pyxis Karteria when those vessels roll off their existing employment.