Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port
Ukraine fallout continues to support tanker freight rates
Freight rates for clean tankers—the specialist vessels that transport refined petroleum products—reached multi-year highs in 2022 and are likely to remain strong going into 2023
Clean freight rates saw “multi-year highs this summer… [that] remained elevated through November, driven largely by the effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine”, according to the EIA. Rates for the medium-range (MR) class of clean tankers—the most ubiquitous of product-transporting vessels—even topped those logged early in the pandemic, when the global slump in demand for refined products caused a spike in requirements for tankers to act as floating storage, the EIA states. Tanker freight rates are clustered around common shipping routes, which serve as indicators or even benchmarks for the cost of shipping more generally. "Since February 2022,” rates for voyages involving Russian
Also in this section
17 July 2025
US downstream sector in key state feels the pain of high costs, an environmental squeeze and the effects of broader market trends
16 July 2025
Crude quality issues are an often understated risk to energy security, highlighted by problems at a key US refinery
15 July 2025
Government consultations on the windfall tax and the exploration licence ban are positive steps, but it is unclear how long it will take for them to yield tangible outcomes
15 July 2025
A brutally honest picture about the potential role of oil and gas in 2050 should prompt policymakers to not only reflect but also change course to meet vital energy needs
