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LONDON—The
cost of shipping Middle East oil to Asia may fall this
week on slower demand for tankers in April.
Freight
rates for supertankers on the benchmark route to
Singapore, little changed today, have declined about 7
percent this month on reduced bookings for April.
Transport costs typically drop at this time of the year
as some oil refineries close for routine maintenance,
curbing demand for shipments.
“Charterers are drip-feeding cargoes into the market” to
get lower tanker rates, Per Mansson, a shipbroker at Nor
Ocean Stockholm AB, said in a phone interview. “I don’t
think we will see higher numbers being paid this week.”
Singapore Petroleum Co. booked a so-called very large
crude carrier, or VLCC, called Yiomaral to load a cargo
on April 11 at 120-122.5 Worldscale points, shipbrokers
including Paris-based Barry Rogliano Salles said in
notes to clients Tuesday.
The rate
was assessed at 120 Worldscale points on March 20,
according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Worldscale
points are a percentage of a nominal rate, or flat rate,
for more than 320,000 specific routes. Flat rates,
quoted in US dollars a metric ton, are revised annually
by the Worldscale Association in
London
to reflect changing fuel costs, port tariffs and
exchange rates.
There
were no bookings on the benchmark routes to the US VLCC.
Rates to the US Gulf Coast were at 93 Worldscale points
on March 20, according to the Baltic Exchange. VLCCs are
booked about a month in advance and charterers have
about 24 hours to cancel contracts.
About 51
cargoes have been matched with tankers for April,
according to Salles. Ninety-four bookings were done for
March and 103 for February, the broker said in the note.
At 120
Worldscale points, owners of double-hulled VLCCs can
earn about $80,900 a day on a 39-day round trip from
Saudi Arabia to South Korea, based on a formula by R.S.
Platou, an Oslo-based shipbroker.
Frontline Ltd., the world’s biggest VLCC operator, said
on February 15 it needs $31,400 a day to break even on
each of its supertankers. (Bloomberg) |
