A glut of supertankers seeking to load crude from Persian Gulf ports and terminals stayed near an 11-month high as the fleet of ships competing for business expands and oil-demand growth slows, Bloomberg reports. There are 24 percent more very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, available for hire over the next 30 days than there are cargoes, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of five shipbrokers and one shipowner today. That’s 1 percentage point less than a week ago, when the excess expanded to the highest since Oct. 5, 2010.
The number of VLCCs, which can ship 2 million-barrel cargoes of crude oil, in service worldwide expanded 3.6 percent to 550 vessels this year, according to data from IHS Fairplay. Global oil demand will expand 1.2 percent to 89.3 million barrels a day this year, the International Energy Agency forecast today, cutting a previous forecast.
“Even if all the remaining September cargoes get covered today, it’s not likely to shake things up as there are plenty of ships around,” Marex Spectron, a Singapore-based freight derivatives broker, wrote in an e-mailed report, adding that holidays in Asia meant there were no vessel bookings yesterday.
Owners are contributing an average of $9,285 a day toward fuel costs to ship Persian Gulf oil to the U.S. and Asia, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Sometimes they will do this because it’s a cheaper way of moving vessels to new markets than sailing empty. The bourse’s earnings estimates don’t reflect speed alterations that can cut fuel consumption.
The number of VLCCs, which can ship 2 million-barrel cargoes of crude oil, in service worldwide expanded 3.6 percent to 550 vessels this year, according to data from IHS Fairplay. Global oil demand will expand 1.2 percent to 89.3 million barrels a day this year, the International Energy Agency forecast today, cutting a previous forecast.
“Even if all the remaining September cargoes get covered today, it’s not likely to shake things up as there are plenty of ships around,” Marex Spectron, a Singapore-based freight derivatives broker, wrote in an e-mailed report, adding that holidays in Asia meant there were no vessel bookings yesterday.
Owners are contributing an average of $9,285 a day toward fuel costs to ship Persian Gulf oil to the U.S. and Asia, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Sometimes they will do this because it’s a cheaper way of moving vessels to new markets than sailing empty. The bourse’s earnings estimates don’t reflect speed alterations that can cut fuel consumption.