Following limitations placed on the movement of Venezuelan crude oil tankers and sanctions on a Chinese transportation giant, oil shipping rates are soaring.
The chartering cost for supertankers to send crude oil is rising sharply. For one crude shipment from the US Gulf Coast, a South Korean importer paid more than $12 million in shipping costs.
For being involved in bringing crude oil from Iran, sanctions on China’s COSCO imposed by the US in late September. As a result, exporters have paused from chartering COSCO vessels. More than 50 supertankers operated by COSCO. Since the sanctions imposed by the US, about 33 percent of those tankers have shut off their ship-tracking transponders.
The use of vessels linked to Venezuelan oil in the last year banned by Exxon Mobil Corp last week. Its move caused rates to hike up further.
New maritime rules is another factor contributing to rising rates. As of January 1, cleaner-burning marine fuel or diesel fuel must be used by shipowners.
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