A lack of vessels willing to load Russian crude has pushed up aframax rates to more than $350,000 per day from Primorsk.
Vessels are being fixed at a whopping Worldscale (WS) 715 — or $351,902 — from the key Baltic Sea port, UK shipbroker Howe Robinson said.
This is up from $332,000 last week and compares to a year-to-date average of $107,000.
The Baltic Exchange assesses the route into northern Europe at $348,000 per day — the highest level since at least 2008.
By contrast, aframaxes heading across the Mediterranean are earning $65,000 per day, and other northern European voyages are at $46,000 per day.
AIS data shows Greek owner Minerva Marine’s 115,000-dwt Minerva Nounou (built 2006) was scheduled to arrive in Primorsk on Thursday but remains in Rotterdam.
And Vitol’s 115,000-dwt Elandra Angel (built 2009) is shown as en route to the port.
In a bid to lure in buyers, Russian Urals crude was being offered at almost $35 per barrel below the dated Brent benchmark price last week.
Rates for cargoes from Russia have been hugely inflated since the invasion of Ukraine, with many owners staying away from the business, despite no oil sanctions in the European Union so far.
CPC cargoes announced
Exports from the CPC pipeline at Novorossisyk in the Russian Black Sea have been reduced by storm damage putting two of three mooring buoys out of action.
Howe Robinson said a preliminary lifting programme has now been announced for May.
But brokers have yet to see aframaxes being fixed to load there.
Cross-Mediterranean enquiry levels have been quieter, but rates were holding up, the UK shop added.
