Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 20, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe Baltic Exchange, citing escalating geopolitical disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and broader Middle East, has proposed revising its methodology for all Middle East freight benchmarks by permitting loading from ports outside the Gulf region, aiming to reduce the risk of benchmark suspension wh
HOUSTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange, which tracks and assesses freight rates, on Monday proposed amending its methodology on all Middle East benchmarks, citing the escalating geopolitical disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East region, according to a document seen by Reuters and circulated to the market.
The exchange is seeking immediate feedback on a proposal to allow flexibility in the methodology and include a load port or area outside the Middle East Gulf region. The option to load at the originally defined port inside the region would continue.
The Baltic Exchange's indices and assessments are used as a settlement tool for freight derivative trades, for benchmarking physical contracts and as a general indicator of the freight markets’ performance.
While the consultation does not remove the risk of a benchmark suspension, it is intended to help mitigate that risk, the Baltic Exchange said.
The Baltic Exchange had in March convened meetings and provided guidance to shipbrokers on how they may assess indices in the absence of direct or physical fixtures. The Exchange said then that shipbrokers may consider ongoing negotiations or fixtures on more liquid, closely related or economically comparable routes or time charter equivalent earnings for their assessments.
S&P Global Platts, one of the larger providers of price and transaction information on the oil and fuel markets for the industry, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on how any changes to Baltic Exchange methodology would impact its assessments.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
The proposed amendments are in response to escalating geopolitical disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Middle East region, which affect freight assessments.
The Baltic Exchange is seeking to allow flexibility in its benchmark methodology by including load ports or areas outside the Middle East Gulf region while keeping the original load port option.
The amendments are intended to help mitigate the risk of benchmark suspension and ensure continuous, reliable freight rate assessments for derivative trades and physical contracts.
The Exchange has advised shipbrokers to use ongoing negotiations or comparable routes for assessments if direct physical fixtures are unavailable.
S&P Global Platts has not immediately responded to requests for comment on how changes may affect its assessments.
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