Oil-tanker earnings surged above the $100,000-a-day marker on the benchmark route as a looming ship-fuel revolution combined with U.S. sanctions to supercharge rates, reports Bloomberg.
Highest ship rates since 2017
The rates for ships hauling 2-million-barrel cargoes of Middle East oil to China climbed more than 15% to $113,047-a-day, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London.
That’s the highest in data going back to February 2017.
U.S. sanctions on Chinese shippers
The U.S. move to impose Iran-related sanctions on Chinese companies including units of China COSCO Shipping Corp., one of the world’s biggest vessel owners, is among the factors that propelled rates higher, according to shipping analysts.
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s shunning of vessels that have called at Venezuelan ports in the past 12 months also played a part.
Refining activity strengthened
Additional underlying drivers include seasonal market strength, hundreds of tankers getting fitted with “scrubbers” to meet International Maritime Organization sulfur-emissions rules that come into effect from January, and strengthening refining activity linked to that change.
“Presently the market is driven by psychology and sanctions, with few if any really knowing the duration of the latter,” said Espen Fjermestad, an analyst at shipbroker Fearnley Securities AS in Oslo.
“If anything, we see upside given greater supply reductions through scrubber retrofits and increased refinery runs ahead of IMO,” the analyst added.
Worldscale data
Tanker rates (on Oct 8) from the Middle East to China gained 11% to 133.13 Worldscale points, again the highest this year, the Baltic Exchange said.
Exacerbating the sanctions-related reduction in ship supply, some vessels are installing scrubbers and that means “they will need to return to dry dock, effectively removing supply from the market,” according to Bloomberg NEF oil analyst Mohith Velamala.
Scrubber installation scenario
About 700 tankers are scheduled to have installed scrubbers by the end of 2019, he said.
Other major tanker routes also gained to year-to-date highs, including rates for the Middle East-to-Singapore and Middle East-to-U.S. Gulf journeys, as well as West Africa to China.
“For the first time in years, all major shipping segments are trading at historical strong levels,” Clarksons Platou Securities AS analysts including Frode Morkedal said in an emailed note.
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Source: Bloomberg
