Aframax
Meaning
An Aframax is a tanker of about 80,000 to 120,000 deadweight tonnes, carrying around 600,000 to 750,000 barrels, common in short and mid-haul crude trades.
Aframax explained
The name comes from the Average Freight Rate Assessment scale used decades ago. Aframaxes trade in the North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asia, and are the main lightering ships in the US Gulf.
Coated Aframax-size ships trading clean products are called LR2s.
Related terms
Suezmax
A Suezmax is a tanker of about 120,000 to 200,000 deadweight tonnes, the largest size that can transit the Suez Canal fully laden, carrying around 1 million barrels.
LR2
An LR2 is a long range product tanker of about 80,000 to 160,000 deadweight tonnes, typically Aframax-sized with coated tanks for clean products.
Lightering
Lightering is transferring part of a large tanker's cargo to smaller ships so it can enter a port too shallow for it fully laden.
TD25
TD25 is the Baltic Exchange benchmark Aframax route for a 70,000-tonne crude cargo from the US Gulf (Houston) to Rotterdam.