In the landed-cost math of the seven transshipment grades, freight often decides the winner over the differential. Brazil's Lula and US Gulf cargoes round the Cape or Panama on a 30-45 day voyage; short-haul Middle East grades - ESPO from Russia's Far East, Dubai, Oman - arrive within two weeks. On the same Brent pricing, the extra freight and capital tied up by a long haul can erase several dollars of landed advantage.

This year VLCC time-charter rates rose noticeably once Red Sea diversions became routine, so freight now weighs more in the landed formula for long-haul grades (Lula, US Gulf, West African Bonny Light). Short-haul Middle East cargoes, by contrast, lean on STS anchorages at Oman's Sohar and the UAE's Fujairah to keep ship-switching cost minimal - exactly why Iron Rule F7 locks the discharge port into an STS structure before the letter of credit is opened.

For SNSUC the operating lesson is that grade selection cannot rest on differential and quality alone; freight times voyage times in-transit capital cost must fold into the landed model. If Lula's premium to Asia is flattened by freight, its value slips behind short-haul Oman; and although Urals carries a deep discount, sanctions and insurance cost must be priced separately - never order on the lowest landed number alone.

Watch the vessel side too: when VLCC spot rates lift, long-haul margins compress and short-haul Middle East cargoes with STS transshipment regain the edge. This is a table that re-sorts with freight, not a fixed ranking.