Far East Archives - Vortexa

FEATURE OF THE WEEK

Imbalance in supply and demand fundamentals in Atlantic MR market favours the Gulf of Mexico

Recent insights

Jul 10, 2025

China’s Iranian crude imports near record high again

China imported over 1.7 mbd of Iranian crude in June—just shy of the March record. But what’s different this time?

Jul 09, 2025

LNG Special Report: As Middle East tensions ease, summer dynamics across China and Europe define the market

Easing Middle East tensions are influencing summer price trends, while diverging demand patterns across China and Europe are reshaping the…

Jul 04, 2025

Global crude/condensate supplies show surprising upside despite muted OPEC-8 exports

Despite relaxed voluntary production targets, OPEC-8 crude exports remained stable, while the rest of OPEC+ crude exports show growth over…

Select category

LNG

LPG

Company news

December 02, 2021

Omicron obscures outlook for tanker markets

In this blog, Vortexa attempts to assess Omicron's impact on crude and product tanker markets.

August 25, 2021

Naphtha persistence lifts LR1 tanker rates…

Firm naphtha demand and discount to LPG, has boosted naphtha flows. At the same time LR2 tankers are involved in trades of other products,…

August 11, 2021

Crude tonne-miles: SE Asia & India…

China's contribution to crude tonne-miles has dwindled year-to-date according to Vortexa freight data as the country continues to decrease crude imports. Other nations have…

OPEC+ decision: A zero-sum game for…

Is the OPEC+ output increase considered glad tidings or a false hope for the VLCC market?

LR2s keep “cleaning” up throughout 2021

What are the dynamics behind this dirty-to-clean shift and what is the impact on the product and crude tanker markets?

The curious case of declining VLGC…

Despite a really strong, unseasonal LPG price hike, VLGC rates are following a different path. Vortexa attempts to shed a light on this divergent…

European naphtha exports boost LR2 demand

Elevated naphtha exports from Europe supported long-haul voyages in favour of LR2 tankers. Yet, will this trend contribute to uplift LR2 freight rates?

Diverging trends behind stable supertanker utilisation

Declining volumes towards the Far East limits tanker demand, but long-haul voyages to India keep VLCC and Suezmax tanker utilisation in balance.

Latam diesel imports via WAF surge…

Latin America diesel imports via ship-to-ship transfers off west Africa are on track to hit a multiyear year high in March.

Middle East LR2 tankers: Naphtha provides…

As naphtha continues to find outlets towards the East, LR2 utilisation is on the rise in March, helping resurrect rates from multi-year lows.