Oil Tanker Owners News

A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes and prices in response to maritime attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on the world's main East-West trade route.Attacks in recent days on ships in the major Red Sea shipping route have raised the spectre of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the COVID pandemic, and prompted a U.S.-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen.The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal…

China's military exercises in the waters around Taiwan have prompted some ships to navigate around the Taiwan Strait and give the island a wide berth, disrupting key trading routes for cargo and commodities sailing around the world, analysts said.Angered by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China on Thursday began four days of military drills around the disputed island, including firing live missiles and deploying fighter jets.Although Taiwan's ports are operating as normal…

Frontline and rival Euronav have signed an all-stock merger deal to create a market-leading oil tanker group with 146 vessels including 68 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), the companies said on Monday.The firms, which expect the merged company to have a market capitalization of more than $4 billion and the merger to generate synergies of at least $60 million a year, first announced their intention to merge on April 7.

Insurers have raised the cost of providing cover for merchant ships through the Black Sea, adding to soaring rates to transport goods through the region for vessels still willing to sail after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Ship owners pay annual war-risk insurance cover as well as an additional "breach" premium when entering high-risk areas. These separate premiums are calculated according to the value of the ship, or hull, for a seven-day period.Ship insurers have quoted the additional premium rate for seven days at anywhere between 1% to 2% and up to 5% of insurance costs…

In the first four months of 2021, the amount of oil product tanker capacity that has been sent for demolition has already reached the total amount of demolished capacity in each of 2019 and 2020 due to unfavourable freight rates. If that pace continues for the rest of the year, an 11-year record is set to be broken.This according to a report out today from BIMCO, which shows that so far this year, 10 crude oil and 38 oil product tankers have left the active trading fleet and the…

Oil prices settled 2.2% higher on Thursday after attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman stoked concerns of reduced crude trade flows through one of the world's key shipping routes.The attacks near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz reignited worries about an impact to flows from the Middle East if insurance companies begin to reduce coverage for voyages through the region and additional shipping companies suspend new bookings, analysts said.Such a disruption "could further exacerbate the supply problem…

Oil tanker owners DHT Holdings and Heidmar have suspended new bookings to the Mid-East Gulf, three ship brokers said, following suspected attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.DHT has a large fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Heidmar has a wide range of oil tankers.

Ship owners accelerated installations of engine emissions cleaning systems this year ahead of stringent new rules in 2020 which sharply reduce the amount of sulphur ships can emit from the 3.5 percent in current bunker fuel to 0.5 percent, according to a report.Vessel operators can either switch to cleaner, but more expensive, marine gasoil or install scrubbers to filter sulphur from dirtier fuel oil.The looming change in International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules has impacted…

The cost of shipping oil through the Black Sea and Mediterranean fell on Monday after a failed coup in Turkey over the weekend and shipping sources said there were no disruptions through Istanbul's vital Bosphorus Strait. More than 290 people were killed and around 1,400 wounded in the violence on Friday night, as soldiers commandeered tanks, attack helicopters and fighter jets in a bid to seize power, strafing parliament and the intelligence headquarters and trying to seize the main airport and bridges in Istanbul. The Bosphorus, which bisects Istanbul, is a chokepoint for oil that handles over three percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea.

Italy's RINA expects to start verifying safety and environmental standards for Iranian ships including oil tankers in a matter of weeks, the classification society said, stealing a lead on rivals as business interest in Iran heats up. Without verification from such bodies, ships are unable to call at international ports or secure insurance. RINA said it had signed an agreement this week with Iran's Asia Classification Society, enabling the Genoa-headquartered group to provide services to Iranian shipping firms. Under Iranian regulations, international players have to team up with local counterparts when providing cover for Iranian flagged vessels.

Foreign oil tanker owners are expected to make a slow return to Iran despite the lifting of many sanctions as insurers tread carefully, leaving shipping players unwilling to pick up cargoes as quickly as Tehran has wanted. A nuclear deal between world powers - known as the P5+1 - and Iran led to the removal on Saturday of international oil export prohibitions as well as restrictions on banking, insurance and shipping for Tehran. With U.S. sanctions still in place, which exclude U.S. persons, banks and insurers from trading with Iran including dollar business, shipping and marine insurance sources say many foreign companies are likely to take their time. They are also mindful of sanctions being reimposed in a "snap back" if Iran reneges on commitments.

Oil tanker owners are celebrating one of the industry's most notable turnrounds after charter rates for some vessel classes multiplied around seven times in the space of a few weeks. Owners of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), capable of carrying 2m barrels of oil, have been chartering their vessels for as much as $150,000 a day in the past two weeks, against only just over $20,000 in early November. The spike results mainly from industry fears about the effect on tankers of the strong market for shipping dry bulk cargo, where owners can earn up to $180,000 a day chartering out the largest, Capesize, ships. Owners of single-hull tankers - due to be phased out for environmental reasons by 2010 - are increasingly converting them into bulk carriers, reducing the supply of tankers.

Oil-tanker owners may have a better year in 2006 than last year as the number of new vessels fails to keep pace with demand for crude, The Royal Gazette reported. The fleet will increase by a net five percent this year, compared with 7.8 percent in 2005. (Source: The Royal Gazette)

A former Australian transport minister challenged oil tanker owners, who were meeting in Sydney on Tuesday, to join him in the fight against "slave-ships", which still thrive in the world's shipping trades. At the end of a vigorous debate on corrosion in tankers, Peter Morris challenged the industry to take more interest in its human resources. "You've all been worrying about the rates of corrosion of metal, but what about the corrosion of lives?" he asked. "I think you and I are going to be working very closely in the future," he told Intertanko chairman Westye Hoegh. Morris, transport minister from 1983 to 1987 in Bob Hawke's Labor government…