Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched a daily Global Aframax time charter equivalent (TCE) ton-miles weighted index, called GAFXI 10, based on non-scrubber vessels using 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel on Nov. 3, 2025.
Simultaneously, Platts has launched an additional daily Global Aframax TCE ton-miles weighted index, called GAFXI 10S, based on scrubber-fitted vessels using 3.5% sulfur bunker fuel and eco-class design.
Given the major changes in global seaborne crude oil trade, marked by new crude oil production and consumption areas, the Aframax market currently lacks a comprehensive weighted TCE index that accurately reflects trade flow volume. As the global Aframax fleet evolves to improve fuel efficiency, various vessel types — including those with scrubbers and eco-designs — have emerged, resulting in different daily returns.
To support the launch of the GAFXI 10 and the GAFXI 10S, Platts has launched two series of 10 calculated TCE Aframax assessments, with each series serving non-scrubber and scrubber-fitted eco-vessels, respectively. The introduction of these two TCE rate series for both non-eco, non-scrubber and scrubber-fitted eco-vessels aims to capture the market’s upper and lower earnings ranges, providing clearer insight into TCE earnings across different Aframax categories. The Aframax TCE assessments and indices cover the following weight-assigned routes:
The GAFXI 10 and GAFXI 10S indices will not be published on days when any of London, Singapore, Houston, or all three locations observe a public holiday.
The TCE assessments for the routes Teesport-Rotterdam, Mongstad-Genoa, CPC-Augusta and Ceyhan-Trieste are published at 4:30 pm London timestamp and follow the London publishing schedule.
The assessments for the routes Fujairah-Ulsan, Kimanis-Geelong and Dampier-Daesan are published at the 4:30 pm Singapore time stamp and follow the Singapore publishing schedule.
The assessments for the routes Corpus Christi-Rotterdam, Dos Bocas-Houston and Houston-Canaport are published at 1:30 pm Houston timestamp and follow the Americas publishing schedule.
The weightings for individual TCE assessments are based on the volume of Aframax vessel movements, as observed by data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea(opens in a new tab), converted to ton-miles. The ton-mile demand estimate is derived from the cargo volume in metric tons during 2022-24 between regions, multiplied by the distance travelled in nautical miles for the specified routes, following the shortest route.
Platts Global Dirty Tanker Index
Platts has also launched the Global Dirty Tanker Index, a combined wet bulk freight industry marker that is derived from the weighted average time charter equivalent (TCE) indices including the Platts Global VLCC Index (GVI 7 and GVI 7S), the Global Suezmax Index (GSI 10 and GSI 10S) and the Global Aframax Index (GAFXI 10 and GAFXI 10S), effective Nov.
3, 2025.
The Platts Dirty Tanker Index is published in dollars per day ($/day) for both non-eco, non-scrubber vessels — called DTI — and eco-class, scrubber-fitted ships — called DTIS — following the logic of capturing the market’s upper and lower earnings ranges.
The index assessments will not be published on days when either London, Houston, or Singapore or all locations have a public holiday.
Weightings for the individual indices within the Platts Global Dirty Tanker Index are determined by the ton-days observed for VLCC, Suezmax, and Aframax tankers globally over the last three full years (2022-2024) from CAS. Ton-days demand is calculated by multiplying the volume of cargo moved in metric tons by the duration of each tracked shipment in days.
Platts may review all weightages in the event of a substantial change in observed trade flows.
Platts earlier announced the decision to launch above assessments in a subscriber note dated Oct. 6, 2025, available here(opens in a new tab).
The assessments are published in the Platts Dirty Tankerwire and Platts Dirty Tankerwire Monthly and on fixed pages, PGT0020, PGT0021, PGT0022 PGT0023, SHP0010, SHP0011, SHP0012 and SHP0013.
Source: Platts
