Storage and Freight for Trading Houses

Optionality is the product

Most trading inquiries are about options rather than tanks: the option to hold, to blend, to switch grade or to exit by a different mode. We structure contracts with that in mind, from month-to-month bookings to longer terms with extension rights. Tank-Farm Availability shows which tanks are free, reserved or booked, with days and price, before you call.

• Short-notice bookings where tankage is free
• Segregated tanks for blending and quality plays
• Commingled storage for fungible grades at lower cost
• In-tank title transfer between verified parties
• Exit by tanker, barge, rail, truck or pipeline

Storage plays in contango

In contango, forward prices sit above prompt prices. A trader can buy prompt, store, and sell forward to lock in the spread. The trade works only if the spread covers the full cost of carry, and that is more than the storage fee. We break out every cost line so you can test the numbers against the curve.

When the curve flattens or flips into backwardation, where prompt prices exceed forward prices, the incentive reverses and stored barrels come out quickly. Contracts should anticipate that day, with notice periods, exit routes and loading slots agreed at the start rather than negotiated under pressure.

Blending to specification

Blending turns components into saleable grades. Fuel oil is blended to the ISO 8217:2024 grade the buyer will accept, often a very low sulfur fuel oil at or below the 0.50% global sulfur cap. Gasoline is blended from components to the octane and vapor pressure limits of the destination market. We blend to your recipe, in tank or in line, and test the result before release.

The recipe and the margin stay yours. We report component volumes, as-blended quality and any deviation from target, so you know exactly what you own before you sell it, and the laboratory results travel with the product into the cargo documents.

Fast turnarounds at the berth

Time at the berth is money under the charter party. On ASBATANKVOY terms, laytime usually starts six hours after the vessel tenders a valid notice of readiness (NOR), or on berthing if sooner, and demurrage runs once laytime is used up. We shorten the turnaround by having the tank, the shore line and the documents ready before the ship arrives.

• Tank staged and sampled before the vessel berths
• Shore lines packed and ready to pump
• Inspector appointed and on site at arrival
• Documents drafted against the contract before loading ends

Confidentiality, credit and KYC

Stock levels, counterparties and blend recipes are shared only with you and with people you authorize in writing. A buyer you sell to in tank sees its own allocation in our portal, not your book. Credit is agreed to your standing, which can mean a letter of credit or a parent guarantee, and our agreements state plainly the warehouse lien a US storage operator holds for unpaid charges.