Common Questions

What does Vortexa track and how does it work?

Vortexa tracks global crude oil and refined product cargo flows using AIS vessel data, draft readings, port call records, and cargo manifests across approximately 7,000 active tankers. It models vessel-level cargo volumes, routes, floating storage, and freight economics in near real-time.

How did Vortexa data show the impact of BP Rotterdam shutting down in May 2026?

Vortexa's AIS-based tracking of crude tanker arrivals and product cargo diversions provided intraweek visibility on ARA stock depletion as BP Rotterdam ran zero crude throughput. Trading desks used the data before the weekly PJK ARA survey to size the product shortage.Source: Vortexa

How does Vortexa compare to Kpler for European oil cargo tracking?

Vortexa and Kpler are direct competitors in energy cargo analytics. Vortexa is considered to have particular strength in ARA/North Sea and East-West arbitrage through Suez. Both use AIS-based tracking and cargo manifest intelligence, but their coverage and methodology differ at the cargo-level.

Background

Vortexa is a London-based energy cargo analytics firm founded in 2017 by Fabio Kuhn and Michele Fiorentino. It tracks global crude oil and refined product flows using AIS vessel data, draft readings, port call records, and cargo manifest intelligence across approximately 7,000 active tankers. Its platform is used by trading houses, energy banks, and commodity hedge funds requiring sub-weekly visibility on physical cargo movements.

Vortexa's AIS-based tracking of crude tanker arrival queues and product cargo diversion flows was the real-time complement to Insights Global's weekly PJK survey as BP Rotterdam ran zero crude throughput through May 2026, giving trading desks intraweek visibility on whether the outage would tighten ARA gasoil inventories faster than the Thursday survey could capture.

For European oil desks, Vortexa's specific edge is in the ARA/North Sea region and East-West arbitrage flows through Suez. It is typically the first public data source to show whether Singapore-origin gasoil is loading towards Europe: the signal that pre-empts tightening in Med barge cracks before it appears in weekly inventory surveys.

Source Material

Vortexa Insights Vortexa — Official Website

How the World Sees Them

Shadow fleet analysts

KSE Institute and sanctions screeners cross-reference Vortexa AIS data against shadow fleet vessel lists to identify Russian-origin crude cargoes transiting under non-Russian flags through European chokepoints.

European trading desks

Vortexa's intraweek ARA and North Sea data is treated as an early inventory signal — particularly for gasoil — in the days between the Thursday PJK print and the following Wednesday's EIA data.

Singapore / Asia-Pacific

East-West arbitrage desks in Singapore use Vortexa's Suez-transit tracking to identify whether European product demand is pulling cargoes from the East; a loading wave in Asia destined for Europe pre-empts Med crack moves.