2010 May 06

U.S. oil spill causing minor tanker delays - analyst

An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is causing a few delays for oil tankers in the region, giving freight rates a boost, a shipping analyst said on Wednesday.

An army of workers toiled above and below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday to plug a gushing oil leak and protect the U.S. shoreline in one of the biggest spill containment efforts ever mounted.

Smaller aframax tankers dominate seaborne activity in the area ferrying crude oil from Mexico and Venezuela.

"Those ships have seen a few delays," Mike Reardon, vice president of research and marketing with freight derivatives exchange Imarex, told Reuters Insider on Wednesday.

"Right now it is just a minor inconvenience, but it does boost rates a touch."

Rates for aframax tankers from the Caribbean to the U.S. Gulf rose to their highest in five weeks on Wednesday with average earnings up at $12,980 a day, Baltic Exchange data showed.

"You have the psychological effect where any time someone is able to raise their rates they are going to," Reardon said.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has not slowed ship traffic to central U.S. Gulf ports, and shipping lanes into the key port of New Orleans are expected to stay clear at least into Friday.

"While the oil itself may not be dangerous to the ship for it to pass through, what you don't want is your ship to have the hull covered in oil," Reardon said.

"No port authority is going to let you into their ports if you have oil on your hull."

Energy consultants Poten & Partners said the spill was likely to have wide ranging consequences for tanker markets in the coming weeks.

"Delayed and diverted voyages will undoubtedly be a factor in determining tanker freight rates in the region and beyond as attempts to stop the spill continue to develop," it said in a report.

"Voyages will be extended as vessels are forced to go around the spill, with freight rates likely to rise while owners and charterers haggle over who is responsible for extra costs."

Shipping sources have said tanker owners were charging higher prices to risk transporting cargoes nearby areas affected by the oil slick.

Imarex's Reardon said he knew of no delays or no change in rates for ships loading grains along the Mississippi River for export.

"The Mississippi river so far has avoided the oil coming in and prohibiting ships from maybe leaving or going in there," he said. "If it does occur it's a pretty big event. Right now there is no talk of it."

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