AFRA
The Average Freight Rate Assessment
AFRA is the acronym for average freight rates provided by the London Tanker Brokers Panel; these are essentially average (historical) freight rates that are assessed by the London Tanker Brokers for various tanker sizes. These rates are normally published on the of the month and are arrived at after assessing freight rates on all known fixtures in the open market and from information supplied by various oil companies.
They are used to fix freight rates for the transportation of oil cargoes, and taxation authorities use them to assess transportation costs.
The term AFRAMAX was initially accepted to mean a tanker of 79,999 deadweight (DWT) tons, but AFRA covers rates for tankers grouped as below:
| Acronym | Ship type | Size |
| GP | General Purpose | 16,500/24,999 DWT |
| MR | Medium Range | 25,000/44,999 DWT |
| LR1 | Large Range 1 | 45,000/79,999 DWT |
| LR2 | Large Range 2 | 80,000/159,000 DWT |
| VL | Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) | 160,000/319,999 DWT |
| UL | UltraLarge Crude Carrier (ULCC) | 320,000/549,999 DWT |
Common Abbreviations Used in Tanker Chartering
- Crude – is the name given to unrefined oil extracted directly from the earth, and consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons and carbons.
- DPP – is the acronym for dirty petroleum products, e.g., asphalt, heavy oil etc.
- CPP – is the acronym for clean petroleum products, e.g., aviation fuel, petrol, naphtha etc.
- WVNS – is the acronym for ‘within vessels natural segregation’, which means for example that the vessel will be able to load 3 grades of products if the contract requires her to do so, without altering her constructional features.
- SG – is the acronym for the specific gravity of oil cargo.
- IG – refers to the inert gas system.
- SBT – these are segregated ballast tanks, which are specifically designed to carry ballast only.