Baltic Exchange To Focus On Asian Tanker Markets

The Baltic Exchange will announce tomorrow (23 September) at its Tanker Freight Derivatives Forum in Singapore that it will launch a new Asian tanker route and increase the number of Singapore-based shipbrokers on its reporting panel.

The new trial tanker route will contribute to the Baltic Dirty Tanker Index after a short trial period and be based on the following description:

80,000 mt heated crude Indonesia to Japan
Dumai to Chiba with laydays/cancelling 14/21 days in advance
Maximum age 15 years

The Baltic Exchange estimates that up to 15 spot fixtures per month take place on this route carrying a total of up to 1.2 m mt of crude oil. Reporting on the route starts 4 October 2004.

The Baltic will also unveil the latest additions to its tanker reporting panel – Singapore based tanker shipbrokers Odin Marine (Singapore) and Island Shipbrokers. They will also be joined by Clarksons (Asia), Simpson & Spence Young (Singapore) and McQuilling Brokerage Partners (Singapore) whose UK and US based offices already make assessments to a number of Baltic tanker routes.

The companies will team up with Eastport Chartering in making daily assessments to the Baltic’s Asian tanker routes. A total of 15 companies based in the USA, Europe and Asia now make daily tanker market assessments for the Baltic Exchange.

Announcing the changes Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Jeremy Penn said: “These latest enhancements to Baltic freight market assessments underline our commitment to the tanker market and Asia in particular. We also plan to add further Asian routes to our portfolio in the near future.”

He added: “As an international shipping organisation the Baltic Exchange has to be responsive to the needs of the Asian region. The Baltic understands the need for assessments during the Asian working day and will work towards this goal. Freight derivatives are traded in many different time zones and it is vital that the Baltic thinks globally to help this market.”