Latest News

Traders using STS transfers near Senegal to export Russian naphtha to Brazil, data shows

Traders are using shiptoship loadings near the Senegalese port of Dakar to manage Russian naphtha exports to Brazil, market sources stated and LSEG data shows.

Because a complete European Union embargo on Russian oil items went into effect in February 2023, the bulk of Russia's naphtha has actually been rerouted somewhere else. Loadings to larger vessels help to accelerate tanker turnover and reduce freight costs on long routes through the Atlantic Ocean, traders stated.

STS transfers have likewise end up being more appealing considering that recent Western sanctions on some foreign vessels carrying Russian oil products restricted the variety of ships offered for exports from Russia.

Russia has exported an average 100,000 metric tons of naphtha a month to Brazil, however because September 2024 direct fuel materials have been up to around 35,000 tons monthly, according to delivering information.

Instead, around 160,000 tons of naphtha were loaded in between September and November in the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga and released at a ship-to-ship website near Dakar port to different tankers, including the Pantera and Minerva Mediterranea vessels, the information showed.

All those transshipped freights were predestined for Brazil, according to market sources and LSEG information.

Ship-to-ship transfers are also actively used near the Italian port of Augusta, the Greek islands and Malta for export products of Russian oil products to Asian nations, according to LSEG data.

(source: Reuters)