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Supertanker Rates Surge as Hormuz Traffic Slows
Middle East Crude Costs Jump as Sinokor and Dynacom Secure Soaring VLCC Prices
Key Takeaways:
- Sinokor sought about $20 a barrel to ship Middle East crude to China as tanker rates soared after the Iran war sharply disrupted Strait of Hormuz traffic.
- The conflict that began Feb. 28 pushed VLCC rates to 700 Worldscale points and shrank Hormuz tanker flows, driving one of the most dramatic freight spikes in years.
- Market participants are watching how the Baltic Exchange and shippers respond as benchmark assessments are reviewed and uncertainty persists around the chokepoint’s reopening.
A venture that’s taken a dominant position in the global market for oil supertankers is asking for sky-high charter fees to deliver Middle East crude as the Iran war sends rates spiraling upward.
South Korea’s Sinokor is asking the equivalent of about $20 a barrel to transport oil from the region to China on very large crude carriers, according to shipbrokers. That compares with an average of about $2.50 last year. A smaller ship, controlled by Greece’s Dynacom Tankers Management, was provisionally leased out at about double Friday’s rate.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dwindled, with vessels pooling on either side of the corridor.
Alongside a jump in oil prices, runaway freight is one of the most tangible market responses to a conflict that began on Feb. 28 and culminated with the vital Strait of Hormuz choke point all-but closing to tanker traffic. Traders are now watching what comes next at the waterway, which handles about a fifth of the world’s oil.
Sinokor, working alongside the shipping tycoon Gianluigi Aponte, grabbed the tanker market’s attention this year by taking control of an unprecedented portion of the global VLCC fleet.
The company on March 2 indicated to shipbrokers that its going rate to haul Middle East oil to China, the benchmark route for VLCCs, is 700 industry standard Worldscale points, a more than threefold increase from Feb. 27, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Sinokor didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Worldscale is a pricing system allowing shipowners to calculate vessel earnings and oil companies to estimate their costs when negotiating rates.
Two shipbrokers said the 700-point rate Sinokor is proposing would work out at roughly $20 a barrel if the cargo ultimately went to eastern China.
A tanker controled by Greece’s Dynacom was leased out for 525 Worldscale, equivalent to earnings of $350,000 for every day of its charter, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The Baltic Exchange, which publishes benchmark freight-price assessments, said it is consulting panelists who help it to determine benchmark those rates about how to respond to the current situation in Hormuz.
Sinokor embarked on a fleet-accquisition spree in recent months. One competitor estimated recently that Sinokor now controls about 150 vessels, or nearly 40%, of unsanctioned ships available for immediate charter.
Alex Longley, Serene Cheong, Weilun Soon and Yongchang Chin contributed to this report.
