LaycanDeskSingapore Straits 13,000-17,000 dwt product and chemical tankers - Jurong, Pengerang, Melaka and Pasir Gudang to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia
IMO II and III coated and stainless tankers of 13,000 to 17,000 dwt shuttling clean products, base oils, vegetable oils, oleochemicals and methanol from the Straits refineries and palm terminals to the regional ports MRs cannot use. The Singapore and Malaysian load basins - Jurong Island, Pengerang, Melaka, Pasir Gudang, Port Klang and Kertih - to Nha Be, Go Dau, Hai Phong, Bangkok, Batangas, Tanjung Priok and Sihanoukville: gasoil, jet, base oils, refined palm oils, fatty alcohols, glycols and methanol in 3,000 to 15,000 tonne parcels on 13,000 to 17,000 dwt epoxy, MarineLine and stainless tankers, fixed on the coating, the last three cargoes, the receiving berth's draft and the charterer's vetting.
The 13,000 to 17,000 dwt band exists because of the berths. Singapore's Jurong Island base-oil and chemical jetties and the Johor and Melaka refineries load MRs, but the receiving terminals of the region do not: the Saigon river berths at Nha Be and Cat Lai, Go Dau, the Chao Phraya berths below Bangkok, Batangas, the Cambodian coast and the smaller Indonesian ports take ships of 120 to 150 metres and eight to nine metres of draft. A 13,000 to 14,000 dwt epoxy-coated tanker with ten to fourteen tanks lifts a full gasoil or jet cargo for one of those ports, or three or four grades of base oil at once, and a 16,000 to 17,000 dwt hull matches the 16,000 tonne palm parcels the Malaysian refiners ship to their own buyers. Vietnam imports all its base oil, and the market quotes 3,000 tonne base-oil lots into it; Cambodia's importers moved their sourcing to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia in June 2025 in cargoes of about 4,000 tonnes; Indonesian domestic product moves stay with Indonesian-flag tonnage under cabotage. In the desk's 24 September sweep of the Straits, two of ten unsized tankers sighted fell inside the band, both 2007 to 2010 built epoxy ships in Vietnamese hands working the Vietnam and Thailand clean-products shuttle, which is the profile of the trade: regional owners, pools of 10,000 to 15,000 dwt IMO II coated ships and a handful of Japanese and Korean stainless operators.
Coating decides the cargo list before the charterer does. Epoxy and MarineLine ships carry clean products, base oils, edible palm olein and most oleochemicals; zinc silicate carries products, base oils, methanol, aromatics and high-flash oleochemicals such as PFAD and methyl ester but not edible oils, acids or caustic; stainless carries the acids and the FOSFA-grade edible oils. Gasoline, naphtha and ethanol are low-flash, so ships without inert gas are placed only with charterers whose vetting accepts non-inerted tonnage under the SOLAS thresholds. The charterers are the trading and chartering arms of the Singapore and Malaysian refiners, the regional national oil companies' product desks in Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta, the palm and oleochemical groups' own chartering companies, and the Singapore trading houses; most say in print that they charter in tankers for the balance of their liftings. Owners and pools with 13,000 to 17,000 dwt tonnage opening in the Straits, Pengerang, Vietnam or the Gulf of Thailand send the Q88 with coating, heating, inert gas, last three cargoes and the open port and date, and the desk holds them against the parcel enquiries on its board. Every ship is screened by IMO number, owner and manager before she is described to a charterer, and no hire or freight figure is quoted that is not a last-done from the market.
Load terminals
- Jurong Island base-oil and chemical jetties; Singapore product terminals
- Pengerang and Tanjung Pelepas (Johor) product and chemical berths
- Melaka refinery and base-oil jetty; Kertih glycols
- Pasir Gudang and Port Klang palm and oleochemical berths; Dumai (palm, Indonesian flag for domestic legs)
Discharge ports
- Vietnam: Nha Be, Cat Lai, Go Dau, Dinh Vu and Hai Phong
- Thailand: Chao Phraya river berths below Bangkok, Sriracha, Map Ta Phut
- Philippines: Batangas, Bataan, Subic; Cambodia: Sihanoukville and the Phnom Penh river terminals
- Indonesia: Tanjung Priok, Surabaya, Merak (domestic legs Indonesian flag only)
Typical parcels
- Gasoil and jet 10,000–15,000 t full cargoes
- Base oil 1,000–3,000 t per grade, three or four grades a voyage
- Refined palm oil and fatty alcohol 3,000–16,000 t; PFAD and methyl ester in zinc-coated ships
- Methanol, MEG and IPA 2,000–10,000 t on IMO II/III certificates
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
Why 13,000 to 17,000 dwt and not an MR?
Because the receiving berths set the size. Nha Be, Cat Lai, Go Dau, the Chao Phraya berths, Batangas, Sihanoukville and the smaller Indonesian ports take ships of about 120 to 150 metres drawing eight to nine metres, which an MR cannot meet laden. A 13,000 to 17,000 dwt tanker lifts a full gasoil or jet cargo for one of those ports, or several grades at once, and matches the 16,000 tonne palm parcels the Malaysian refiners ship.
Which coating do I need for my cargo?
Epoxy or MarineLine for clean products, base oils, refined palm olein and most oleochemicals; stainless for acids and FOSFA-grade edible oils where the buyer specifies it; zinc silicate for products, base oils, methanol and aromatics but not for edible oils, free fatty acids or caustic, which strip zinc into the cargo. Low-flash cargoes - gasoline, naphtha, ethanol - go only on ships whose inert-gas fit the charterer's vetting accepts.
Who fixes tankers in this band in Southeast Asia?
The chartering arms of the Singapore and Malaysian refiners and palm groups, the national oil companies' product and petrochemical desks in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, the Singapore trading houses and the pools that run 10,000 to 15,000 dwt IMO II coated ships. Most of them say in print that they charter in tonnage for the balance of their liftings; Indonesian domestic legs are fixed only on Indonesian-flag ships.
What must I send to get a named ship or a firm enquiry?
For a cargo: product and grade, quantity and tolerance, load and discharge terminals with their drafts, heating and coating requirement, laycan, the charterer's name and its vetting requirements. For a ship: the Q88 with coating, heating, inert gas, tank count, last three cargoes, class and flag, and the open port and date. Every ship is screened by IMO number, owner and manager before she is offered, and any hire or freight figure given is a market last-done, not the desk's own estimate.