Caribbean Oil-Tanker Rates Rise

Caribbean Oil-Tanker Rates Rise on Short Supply, Bad Weather
By Todd Zeranski
April 18 (Bloomberg)

Rates to transport crude oil in the Caribbean basin rose on storms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and a shortage of ships to transport cargo slated for May delivery.

Five Aframax tankers, which can transport about 600,000 barrels of oil each, were hired today to the U.S. for a rate in the industry standard Worldscale measure of WS 183, according to a daily report from Lone Star, R.S. Platou in Houston.

That's an increase of 24 percent from the rate of WS 148 yesterday, according to data from Lone Star. The availability of ships to carry goods slated for May delivery is now ``scarce,'' driving up rates, according to a report from Fearnleys, an Oslo-based shipbroker.

WS 183 is equivalent to about $32,878 per day after expenses such as fuel and port fees, according to New York-based broker Poten & Partners. xxx

Three tankers were hired to move oil from the eastern coast of Mexico to the U.S. Gulf Coast by Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Another was hired by Valero Energy Corp. to travel from the Dutch Antilles to the U.S. East Coast. Petroleo Brasileiro SA hired a tanker to transport crude between the Carribean and the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to the Lone Star report.

General Maritime Corp., the third-largest U.S. tanker owner, has a break-even rate of about $12,000 a day. The New York-based company operates many of its vessels in the Caribbean.

Overseas Shipholding Group and OMI Corp. are the largest U.S.-based oil-tanker owners.