Oil tanker rates soar, container lines watch Middle East after US strikes on Iran

Oil terminal (Photo: OilandGasMiddleEast)

Spot rates for the largest crude oil tankers from the Persian Gulf to China have jumped 50% in the past week as tensions in the Middle East have risen, but major container lines have continued sailings through the region despite Iran's threat to close the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) on the Middle East Gulf to Far East route had begun to rise even before the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 21.

The freight rate for a 270,000-tonne tanker has risen 22 points, or about 50%, on the Worldscale (WS) global index to around WS75, above a base of 100. According to published reports, this equates to a round-trip time charter (TCE) rate of more than $57,000 per day.

On June 11, it was around $21,000 per day.

Crude futures settled at $76.42 on Sunday, up from the previous close of $73.84.

Iran's parliament on Sunday passed a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and global shipping lanes. About 17 million barrels of oil a day — or a quarter of the world's output — pass through the waterway each year, according to the Strauss Center for International Law and Security at the University of Texas.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China, the largest customer for Iranian oil, to prevent Tehran from closing the strait.

Iran's security agencies would have to approve the closure, which last happened in 1984.

Gulf states account for 2-3% of global annual container throughput, and shipping lines are closely monitoring developments.

"We continue to monitor the situation very closely, especially considering the U.S. involvement in the conflict," Danish shipping line Maersk said in a statement. "At the moment sailing through the Straight [sic] of Hormuz continues, but we are ready to re-evaluate this based on information available. Equally, we will continuously monitor the security risk to our specific vessels in the region and are ready to take operational actions as needed." 

France-based shipping line CMA CGM said that "shipping operations are running normally in the region, and our operations and logistics chain remain unchanged. We continue to ensure our full service coverage across all routes and ports of call."

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Source: Phaata.com (According to Freight Waves)

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