U.S.-Europe Oil-Product Flow Seen Gaining in Shipbroker Survey

Shipments of refined oil products including diesel and gasoil to Europe from the U.S. Gulf Coast are poised to reach the highest level since January, a Bloomberg News survey showed.
Traders will charter 11 Medium Range tankers for loading over the two weeks to May 22, the average estimates of five shipbrokers specializing in the trade showed yesterday and today. That’s two more ships than last week’s corresponding survey and the highest tally since Jan. 17. Each vessel normally carries about 38,000 metric tons.
The survey is based on the Houston-to-Amsterdam route, a benchmark for the trade that takes about 17 days at 12.5 knots, according to the sea-distances.com website. Costs to haul refined products to Europe climbed 13 percent this month to 85 industry-standard Worldscale points, according to the Baltic Exchange in London.
Seven of the projected bookings have been arranged and the rest are anticipated, the latest survey showed. Twenty-five tankers will be seeking cargoes, five fewer than last week, according to the shipbrokers.
The table below details numbers of ships booked, likely to be hired and available for charter for the two weeks from the stated dates.
*T May 8 May 1 Change Ships Hired 7 6 +17% Ships Probably Hired 4 3 +33% Total Hired 11 9 +22% Available Ships, U.S.-Europe 25 30 -17%
Source: Bloomberg