Latest news with #tankerRates
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Tanker Rates Soar to Highest Since 2023 After US Bombs Iran
Tanker rates extended gains as tensions in the Middle East ratchet higher, with shipowners demanding bigger fees to call at ports in the Persian Gulf after the US launched strikes on Iran over the weekend. The benchmark rate for a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude from the Middle East to China climbed 12%, reaching the equivalent of about $76,000 a day, the highest since March 2023, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London.
Khaleej Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Oil tanker market signals more Middle East energy disruption ahead
While global energy markets are not yet pricing in worst-case scenarios for the Israel-Iran war, oil tanker rates are providing a good real-time gauge of the escalating risks. Geopolitical risk has spiked following Israel's surprise bombardment of the Islamic Republic last Friday and Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile strikes, leading to a rally in global energy prices, with Brent crude rising 8% to roughly $75 a barrel. But markets and investors now appear to be in a holding pattern as the conflict unfolds, with possible scenarios spanning everything from an imminent ceasefire and strengthened nuclear deal to a joint U.S.-Israel effort to destroy Iran's nuclear programme and potentially bring about regime change. For oil markets, the central risk remains the blocking or disruption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which one-fifth of the world's oil and gas consumption flows. Current oil prices suggest the market is still largely discounting such extreme scenarios, but trends in the oil tanker market show that oil shipping activity is being impacted even without direct action by Tehran. The benchmark daily rate for a 'very large crude carrier' (VLCC) moving oil from the Middle East to China has risen by 40% since June 13, reflecting the higher risk premium tanker owners are now charging to move through the strait. LSEG shipping market analysts anticipate further rate increases in the coming days. Tanker rates in other regions have also risen. For example, VLCC rates between West Africa and China have also jumped by over 40% since Friday. This is partly due to an expectation that crude buyers will seek to secure supplies from regions outside the Middle East in order to reduce the risk of disruption to their refining or trading operations. In another sign of the conflict's indirect impact on shipping, Qatar's national energy company instructed liquefied natural gas and oil tankers to stay outside Hormuz and to enter the Gulf only the day before loading, Reuters reported. SPOOFING While no physical attacks have occurred in Hormuz, tensions in the Gulf were heightened on Tuesday after two oil tankers collided and caught fire near the Strait of Hormuz. One of the tankers, the Front Eagle, which was destined for China, was loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, according to monitoring service The exact cause of the collision, which resulted in no injuries or spills, is still unclear. But it coincided with a surge in electronic interference among commercial ship navigation systems in recent days around Hormuz and the wider Gulf. This electronic disruption is affecting vessels' ability to accurately transmit positional data via automated identification systems (AIS), which poses operational and navigational challenges for maritime traffic, the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center said in an advisory. The source of the interference, known as jamming, was unclear. LSEG analysts noted that more than 260 vessels in the Gulf had their AIS positions corrupted at one point in recent days, as they appeared to be 'sailing' on the land around the South Pars Central Power Plant in southern Iran. Similar incidents have been recorded in other parts of the world in the past. For example, signal disruptions affecting AIS and GPS signals rose sharply in the Baltic Sea following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The physical oil market, where real-world trade activity overlaps with political and military activity, can often help investors assess risk levels at moments of heightened geopolitical tension. Amid the current fog of war, the tanker market in the Middle East is flashing warning lights.
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Fuel tanker rates surge as Middle East crisis worries markets
Update: Date: 2025-06-17T06:44:32.000Z Title: Introduction: Fuel tanker rates surge as Middle East crisis worries markets Content: Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The Israel-Iran conflict is pushing up the costs of chartering oil tankers from the Middle East, as geopolitical fears weigh on markets again. Tanker rates for vessels carrying refined oil products from the Middle East have surged in the last few days, amid concern that travelling through the Strait of Hormuz is now more risky. The cost to ship fuels from the Middle East to East Asia climbed almost 20% in three sessions to Monday, according to data from the Baltic Exchange. Bloomberg, which reported the data, explains: Benchmark rates for a medium-sized vessel carrying refined oil product from the Middle East to Japan, known as TC1, rose to 136 Worldscale points on Monday from 114 on Thursday. Costs for smaller vessels doing the same route, or TC5, advanced to 167 points, from 139 two sessions prior. The corresponding level for mid-sized tankers carrying fuels from the Persian Gulf to East Africa, or the TC17 route, meanwhile, was at 287 Worldscale points on Monday, against 202 two sessions ago. Worldscale points are a percentage of an underlying flat rate, which is set for each major route at the start of the year. Tanker rates for vessels carrying refined oil products from the Middle East have surged in recent days, as the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran puts the flow of goods in the Hormuz Strait in the spotlight LSEG data shows that the global benchmark rate for a very large crude carrier moving oil from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) to Japan rose over 20% on Friday after the tensions broke out, and gained another 16% on Monday. Prices jumped amid worries that Iran could potentially target energy facilities or shipping routes, or even close the Strait of Hormuz, if the current conflict – which began on Friday morning when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and missile sites – escalates. Lazard Geopolitical Advisory (LGA) has warned: A temporary disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit chokepoint for 30% of seaborne oil and 20% of LNG, could push oil prices upwards of $120 per barrel and would likely require US direct involvement to secure safe passage for energy flows. Even in the absence of a Strait closure, oil markets will see continued volatility as the risk of a disruption evolves. Naval forces have warned that electronic interference with commercial ship navigation systems has surged in recent days around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf, which is having an impact on vessels sailing through the region. Lloyd's List Intelligence, which monitors maritime traffic, said that loadings of vessels in the Gulf continued over the weekend but tankers waiting to load in Iran were keeping a greater distance from the port. Shares rallied yesterday in Europe, and in the US, following reports that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities and the resumption of talks over its nuclear programs. But stocks are likely to fall back today, as hopes of peace talks fade, after Israel issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran. Donald Trump, who left the G7 leaders summit early last night, has denied that he cut short his appearance at the meeting to broker a truce between Israel and Iran. All day: Paris air show 9am BST: IEA monthly oil market report 9.45am BST: Bank of England financial policy committee member Randall Kroszner gives a speech 10am BST: ZEW survey of German economic sentiment 11am BST: Germany's Bundesbank issues monthly report 1.30pm BST: US retail sales report for May 2.15pm BST: US industrial production data for May
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fuel Tanker Rates Surge as Mideast Conflict Puts Hormuz in Focus
Tanker rates for vessels carrying refined oil products from the Middle East have surged in recent days, as the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran makes hauling fuel through the Strait of Hormuz more risky. The cost to ship fuels from the Middle East to East Asia climbed almost 20% in three sessions to Monday, according to data from the Baltic Exchange. Rates to East Africa, meanwhile, jumped more than 40%. Tanker owners and managers had been pausing vessel offers in the Middle East as the hostilities between Israel and Iran show no signs of letting up.
