Seaborne Crude Oil News

Russian seaborne crude oil export volumes have remained strong and grew 13% y/y in 2022 despite the invasion of Ukraine. However, after a 4% m/m fall in June, volumes fell another 16% m/m in July, and the Russian administration has announced export cuts for August, says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.An even more important factor for the crude tanker market is how EU regulations have reshaped crude trades. China, India, and Türkiye have replaced EU countries as the main buyers of Russian crude oil…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards "forcibly seized" a commercial ship in international waters in the Gulf on Thursday and the vessel was possibly involved in smuggling, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said.The U.S. Navy had monitored the situation and decided not to make any further response, U.S. 5th Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins said.British maritime security company Ambrey said it was aware of an attempted seizure by Iranian forces of a small Tanzanian flagged tanker, around…

Iran said on Thursday it had a court order to seize a tanker in Gulf waters a day earlier after it collided with an Iranian vessel, one of two tankers the U.S. Navy said it prevented Iran from commandeering. The Richmond Voyager, a Bahamas-flagged oil tanker, had collided with an Iranian vessel, and the Iranian navy had a court order to seize it, the Maritime Search and Rescue Center of Iran's Hormozgan Province told the official IRINN news agency. The U.S. Navy said it sent guided…

The U.S. Navy said it had intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, in the latest in a series of attacks on ships in the area since 2019.In a statement, the U.S. Navy said that at 0100 local time (2100 GMT), an Iranian naval vessel had approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman."The Iranian vessel departed the scene when U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived on station…

“By agreeing to an additional voluntary production cut within OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) of 500,000 barrels per day in May and announcing a further independent production cut of 1,000,000 barrels per day in July, Saudi Arabia is aiming to reduce excess supply and support prices,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.According to the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), Saudi Arabian oil production fell to 9.9 mbpd (million barrels per day) in May…

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered Russia's long-awaited response to a Western price cap, signing a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products from Feb. 1 for five months to nations that abide by the cap. The Group of Seven major powers, the European Union and Australia agreed this month to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil effective from Dec. 5 over Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine. The cap is close to the current price for Russian oil…

The U.S. Treasury Department said late on Wednesday that shipments facing the G7's upcoming price cap on oil products such as diesel and gasoline from Russia will have a grace period to arrive at their destination.G7 democracies and Australia are planning to cap prices on two oil products from Russia from Feb. 5 as part of their effort to reduce Moscow's export revenues as it wages war in Ukraine. The move will follow the G7's cap on Russia's seaborne crude oil exports that went into effect on Dec. 5.The measures seek to limit Russia's revenues gradually.

Oil tankers formed a traffic jam off the coast of Turkey on day one of the West's price cap on Russian crude, with Ankara insisting on new proof of insurance for all vessels, the Financial Times reported on Monday.Around 19 crude oil tankers were waiting to cross Turkish waters on Monday, the report said, citing ship brokers, oil traders and satellite tracking services.A $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations, Australia and the 27 European Union states on Russian seaborne crude oil took effect this week…

European Union governments tentatively agreed on Thursday on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil - an idea of the Group of Seven (G7) nations - with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, according to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters.The agreement still needs approval from all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday. Poland, which had pushed for the cap to be as low as possible, had as of Thursday evening not confirmed if it would support the deal…

The Swiss agency in charge of sanctions said it was up to the Swiss government to decide whether to adopt a tweak to EU sanctions that eases shipments of oil from Russian state-owned firms Rosneft and Gazprom to third countries.Purchases of Russian seaborne crude oil by EU companies and its export to third countries is allowed, but under tweaks to sanctions on Russia that came into force on Friday, payments related to such shipments would not be banned."We took note of the EU's decision to adopt new measures against Russia…

The trade war continues to rage in the shade of the headline-grabbing supply chain disruptions. The tariffs are still in place and are unlikely to go anywhere despite the change of administration in the United States. While higher exports from the US to China under the Phase One Agreement have added volumes for tanker and dry bulk shipping, containerized imports to the US have shifted from China to other countries in the region. Despite an increase in exports, the commitments made in the Phase One Agreement are a long way off and unlikely to be met…

New virus mutations and outbreaks have slowed the recovery in global oil demand as some countries lock down again and international travel remains complicated.Drivers of demand and freight ratesTo say that the summer has not been kind to the crude oil shipping industry would be an understatement. Average earnings have dropped below $10,000 per day since June for all crude oil tankers, with many trades offering negative earnings; freight rates are not high enough to cover voyage expenses, let alone operating and financing costs.

Longer sailing distances cushion fall in US crude oil exportsTon mile demand generated by US crude oil exports has fallen by 9.7% in the first two months of 2021 compared with the start of 2020. The fall could however have been much worse; In volume terms, seaborne crude oil exports have fallen by 18.8%, to 20.9m tonnes, a 4.8m tonnes decline compared with last year, according to data from the US Census Bureau.While seaborne crude oil exports to all regions have fallen, those to Asia are among the least affected, down just 1.0%, or equivalent to one Aframax load (101,088 tonnes).

December could boast another all-time high for US seaborne crude oil exports, totaling 13.9 million metric toes and exceeding the previous October record by almost a million metric tons. In 2019, 133 million metric tons of sweet US crude oil was exported by sea, a 51% increase from 2018.Due to the US shale revolution, the country became a net seaborne crude oil exporter in October 2019, and the record-breaking exports in December solidified the trend, as imports for the month amounted to 11.5 million metric tons crude oil.

Greece-based crude, product and LNG tanker operator Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) ordered has one-option-one 174,000cbm LNG carrier from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea with expected delivery, the first, in the second half of 2021 and the second, in the first half of 2022.The provider of international seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services said that with this order, if the option is exercised, its LNG proforma fleet increases to four vessels, two of which are currently employed on time-chartered contracts with major international natural gas production and trading entities.TEN continues its stated policy of maintaining a diversified energy fleet with a focus on LNG as an area of growth.

The highest US crude oil exports to China in 11 months lifted total seaborne US crude oil exports to a record high at 11.9 million (m) tonnes in June 2019. Also contributing to the June record was South Korea, as exports to the other main Far Eastern buyer reached an all-time high volume of 2.3m tonnes.1.2m tonnes were shipped to China between June 1, and  June 30, , up from 1m tonnes in May and worlds apart from no exports at all in the months of August through October in 2018…

John Fredriksen's tanker shipping company Frontline has provided an update on the LR2 tanker Front Altair. Vessel Front Altair was among two ships attacked off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman."On the morning of June 13, at approximately 0500 hrs gmt, an explosion occurred on the Front Altair shortly after the vessel had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf," it said.Most importantly, the 23 crew members onboard the Front Altair are unharmed after being rescued by the cargo vessel Hyundai Dubai and subsequently carried by an Iranian naval vessel to the port city of Jask."We commend our highly-trained crew, the vessel master and ship managers, for following protocol and operating according to the highest standard during this distressing and very serious incident.

Two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, leaving one ablaze and both adrift, shipping firms said, driving oil prices as much as 4% higher over worries about Middle East supplies.The Front Altair, carrying petrochemical feedstock, was on fire in waters between Gulf Arab states and Iran after an explosion that a source blamed on a magnetic mine. The Norwegian owner said its crew were safe.A second Japanese-owned tanker was abandoned after being hit by a suspected torpedo, the firm that chartered the ship said.

US exports of crude oil have, since August 2018, continued to rise every month, with a new record high in January of 9.6 million tonnes. Exports rose in January on the back of increased sales to Europe, which rose from 2.7 million tonnes in December to 4.8 million tonnes in January.A strong end to 2018 meant that volumes for the full year totalled 87.4 million tonnes, 96.7% higher than the 44.4 million tonnes exported in 2017. This is good news for the crude oil tanker sector…

Greek shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) announced new charters for two LNG carriers, the Neo Energy and the Maria Energy to significant international energy concerns for an aggregate period of 36 months. The total gross revenues from these two fixtures, over the duration of the respective contacts, is expected at about $60 million, said the provider of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services worldwide.“LNG is on top of the agenda for TEN’s diversified energy fleet. With two vessels fixed on accretive medium-term charters, the Company is examining further expansion in the sector,” George Saroglou, COO of TEN commented.“TEN’s model provides its clients with a broad range of vessel types, ranging from crude and product tankers to gas carriers.

United States will soon export more oil and liquids than Saudi Arabia, thanks to the continued rise in oil production from US shale plays and the increased oil export capacity from the Gulf Coast.According to Rystad Energy, energy research and business intelligence company, it is a a pivotal geopolitical shift. The US has for decades relied on large-scale imports to satisfy its thirst for oil, but this is about to change.The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week that the United States exported more crude and petroleum products than it imported. Granted, the EIA followed up with a report this week that US crude oil stocks had risen by 7.1 million barrels in a week…

Greek shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) announced 36-month long charters with min/max provisions for two product tankers to a major oil concern.At a minimum, these two fixtures combined are expected to generate $33.0 million of gross revenues, the provider of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services worldwide said.“With 2018 finishing on an upbeat note for all tanker segments, these two fixtures further signify a strong market for this year which the Company’s employment strategy is designed to take advantage of,” George Saroglou, COO of TEN said.“We expect the market in 2019 to maintain the strong momentum as a result of the current supply and demand equilibrium as well as the anticipated disruptions due to the upcoming IMO 2020 emission regulations.

The provider of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (TEN) said that though the tanker market showed upward trajectory, management will keep a close eye on developments and refine its employment approach.The Greece-based tanker company said in a stock exchange annoucement that "As we approach the end of 2018, the signs that the worst is behind are becoming increasingly evident. Global oil demand is continuing its upward trajectory."US crude exports are soaring and finding new destinations in China and India and the global tanker fleet where most of that oil will be shipped is tightening…