- A worsening energy crisis in Europe has sent charter prices for natural gas tankers skyrocketing.
- Daily charter rates for September have risen to $105,250, up from $47,000 a year ago, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The worsening energy crisis and soaring cost of fuel has put pressure on natural-gas supertankers as nations rush to get a hold of vessels amid a shortage of ships, reports Business Insider.
The hike in daily fare
Charter rates for existing tankers for mid-September and mid-November are $105,250 per day, according to Spark Commodities data compiled by the Wall Street Journal.
That’s 64% higher from the current daily fare of $64,000, and 124% higher than year-ago prices. The pool of currently available vessels has been squeezed because traders are booking the tankers well ahead of time to handle the volume of natural gas deliveries, per the report.
Since invading Ukraine, Russia has slashed natural gas supplies to Europe. That has left Europe competing with Asian nations like South Korea and Japan for a dwindling amount of natural gas which travels via a limited number of ships.
Thus, demand for tankers that ferry liquefied natural gas – which can span the length of three football fields – has jumped dramatically.
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Source: Business Insider
