The Aframax crude oil trades tend to have a regional focus. Some of the most important trading areas for Aframaxes are the US Gulf/Caribbean, the North Sea/Baltic and the Mediterranean. Because Aframaxes are most competitive on short- to medium haul voyages, they are much less prevalent in the trades from the Middle East and West Africa, which tend to be dominated by VLCCs and Suezmaxes. The Pacific Basin is a bit of an outlier.
There are some regional trades within the Pacific, by far the biggest of which are the trades from Indonesia/Malaysia to other ASEAN countries and China. Other distinct trades are the voyages from Australia, Russia and the movements along the Pacific coast of North and South America. Let’s take a closer look at some of the Pacific Aframax trades and see if there are potential areas of growth.
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