Not clear why more crude at sea

Off the coast of Iran, some large oil tankers are anchored. Until January, there were sanctions prohibiting the export of Iranian oil. While those sanctions were in place, some of the country’s oil was stored offshore. It’s not clear why those stocks haven’t moved since sanctions have lifted. And there is an increase from 85 to 120 oil tankers at anchor around the world. In 2009, the IEA tracked 112 million barrels of crude oil at sea – compared to the 94 million in July 2016.

[February 14 Iran loads three for Europe ]

m.t.Atlantas

Total chartered the VLCC Atlantas, Spain’s Cepsa booked the Suezmax Monte Toledo and Litasco booked the Distya Akula.   The Atlantas is scheduled to head for European ports, the Monte Toledo for Spain and the Distya Akula for Constantza, Romania, .


http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/details/ships/shipid:754938/mmsi:636014688/imo:9389899/vessel:ATLANTAS


http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/details/ships/shipid:299583/mmsi:255740000/imo:9271573/vessel:MONTE_TOLEDO




http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/details/ships/shipid:3641618/mmsi:419001060/imo:9087972/vessel:FRONT_GLORY

[January 26 Laden VLCC Serena departed Iran for South Korea, passes Mumbai ]



 Sanctions lifted, Iranian VLCC tanker, Serena (IMO 9569645), was recently cast off from the port of Assaluyeh after being moored there for more than a year, and is expected to arrive in Uslan, South Korea, on February 11, 2016. 


IMO: 9569645
Name: SERENA
MMSI: 677057300
Type: CRUDE OIL TANKER
Gross Tonnage: 160000
Summer DWT: 318000 t
Build: 2013
Flag: ZANZIBAR

[August 28 2015 Iran: four laden tankers depart despite sanctions]

MT Hedy

MT Nancy

MT Noble

MT Starla

HEDY 

(Ship name as reported by AIS: HUWAYZEH)

Crude Oil Tanker  Crude Oil Tanker

IMO:  9212888

MMSI:  256869000

Call Sign:  9HEJ9

Flag:  Malta (MT)

AIS Type:  Unspecified

Gross Tonnage:  160930

Deadweight:  299242 t

Length × Breadth:  333m × 58m

Year Built:  2002

Status:  Active

 NANCY

Crude Oil Tanker  Crude Oil Tanker

IMO:  9079107

MMSI:  677032300

Call Sign:  5IM423

Flag:  Tanzania (TZ)

AIS Type:  Tanker - Hazard C (Minor)

Gross Tonnage:  156809

Deadweight:  298732 t

Length × Breadth:  332m × 58m

Year Built:  1996

Status:  Active

NOBLE

Oil Products Tanker  Oil Products Tanker

  IMO:  9358280

MMSI:  205667000

Call Sign:  ONHZ

Flag:  Belgium (BE)

AIS Type:  Tanker

Gross Tonnage:  159911

Deadweight:  307284 t

Length × Breadth:  333m × 58m

Year Built:  2008

Status:  Active

 STARLA

Tanker  Tanker

IMO:  9569621

MMSI:  677021600

Call Sign:  5IM316

Flag:  Tanzania (TZ)

AIS Type:  Tanker

Gross Tonnage:  164796

Deadweight:  317475 t

Length × Breadth:  333m × 60m

Year Built:  2012

Status:  Active

[September 30 2014 Six months under an interim nuclear deal, sanctions regime remains strong]

The International Energy Agency, an independent group that analyzes energy markets for Western governments, estimates that Iran averaged about 1.1 million bpd of crude oil from February to June, which is in the range of the administration’s “around a million barrels per day.”   After six months under an interim nuclear deal, the sanctions regime remains strong and negotiations toward a final deal remain in progress. There are challenges for the P5+1 to face moving forward, but on balance the JPA has succeeded in preserving the leverage that sanctions provide while creating the political space for serious negotiations.

[June 1 Iran's crude oil exports increased in May: violation of the Joint Plan of Action ?]
Iran's crude oil exports increased in May after a decline in April, according to sources who track tanker movements, moving above the level allowed by November's interim deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear programme.

"More Iranian crude appears to be finding its way into markets in violation of the Joint Plan of Act;ion despite the Obama administration's commitment to Congress that it would keep a tight control over the oil lifeblood of the Iranian economy," said Mark Dubowitz, of U.S.-based independent think-tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

"If this continues, it would be a clear violation of Iran's obligations under the JPOA, which binds Tehran to both nuclear and sanctions-related commitments."

There is no generally accepted figure for the oil exports of many producers, including Iran. Information takes time to filter out from opaque oil and shipping markets. Consumer countries, meanwhile, detail imports with a time lag or not at all.

[April 9]

The tanker market is still waiting for Iran's crude export cargoes to start flowing in the international scene at levels enough to make a difference, in terms of freight rates  

The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said in January it is resuming crude oil delivery to Asian buyers in its own vessels as sanctions ease following the implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. At the beginning of April 2014, half of the NITC VLCC fleet was either on its way to China or on the ballast voyage back to Iran. This includes two units, moving under new names, which had previously been storing in the Middle East and Gulf since the 3rd quarter last year. Two VLCCs are currently heading to Ulsan, with another three returning to Kharg Island.   

Iran’s January oil shipments to the Indian customer were 31 percent higher year on year. One VLCC and one Aframax both ballasting from India to the Gulf.  NITC movements into the Mediterranean reveal Suezmaxes to Turkey and an Aframax heading back to Iran from Syria. It should also be considered that the NITC fleet grew by 33% between September 2012 and July last year which has had a significant impact on Iran’s ability to export crude. 

Oiltanking Partners LP (NYSE:OILT) is a $3.17 billion market cap oil and gas midstream company engaged in the terminaling, storage and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. Since the beginning of the year, several insiders have been buying its stock, which has already escalated more than 22%. Since  Oct. 2013, the price has risen 39%.

[February 15]
The rate for the benchmark Ras Tanura-Chiba route averaged Worldscale 63.5 or $46,107/day, while the Arabian Gulf-Singapore rate gained 1.8 points to W64.5. Reported fixtures show Singapore Petroleum Company agreed W67.5 to secure Dynacom's Boston as a replacement for Overseas Kilimanjaro, while Indian oil company Reliance agreed W72.5 for Overseas Equatorial. Brokers describe the market sentiment as steady to firm, after rates slidFerbruary 7 due to the Lunar New Year holidays in China.

Fixtures have been centered around late February and early March in the Arabian Gulf." Last month average earnings reached $61,630 a day their highest level since Feb 2010 before a rally lost steam. As refineries head into maintenance in Q2 rates may to move into more subdued territory although clearly recent months have highlighted the potential for upside. VLCC rates from the Gulf to the United States were at W33.08 on February 11 versus W31.12 on February 10 and W30.46 last February 4.

In contrast, Black Sea and Mediterranean crude tanker rates continued to weaken after rallying last month to their highest since 2008 as weather related disruptions in the Turkish Straits raised the cost of transporting cargoes. Rates for suezmax tankers on the Black Sea to Med route fell to W62.92 or $6,439 a day. That compared with W65.40 or $8,956 a day on February 10 and W79.56 or $21,792 a day February 4.

[December 2 2013]

Rates for VLCCs exceeded $50,000 in November, primarily on seasonal demand and strong exports from the Middle East, and December bookings indicate rates can be sustained over the short term.

 
[November 14]

  Rates for the largest oil-tankers surged as Chinese freight traders led an acceleration in Asian demand for the ships to load Middle East crude, sapping a fleet surplus that made the carriers unprofitable almost all year. A very large crude carrier built 16 years ago was hired today at about 13 percent more than yesterday’s prevailing prices, according to Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., an Athens-based owner. There hasn’t been a bigger one-day gain in 2013, according to data from the Baltic Exchange, a London-based publisher of freight costs on more than 50 trade routes. Rising demand has cut a capacity surplus to the smallest since June 4, according to weekly surveys by Bloomberg News. Increased bookings by Chinese buyers depleted the excess in the largest loading region, according to Halvor Ellefsen, a shipbroker at Galbraith’s Ltd. in London. VLCCs earned $5,598 a day on average this year, less than they need to cover running costs including crew and repairs, Baltic Exchange data show.hina, India, Japan and South Korea bought about 972,600 bpd of Iranian oil in the first half of 2013, down from the 1.235mn bpd in the same period last year.China plans to cut imports from Iran by 5%-10% in 2013 from 2012, meaning that it will have to slow purchases more in the second half to meet even the lower end of its stated goal.While sourcing oil from different suppliers and ensuring sufficient volumes may present Chinese refiners with a challenge, so far there doesn’t appear to be any financial cost to cutting volumes from Iran.

China paid about $99.97 a barrel for Iranian crude in June, according to customs data.

This was only slightly cheaper that the $100.46 a barrel average for all China’s purchases in June.

It’s also interesting to note that while China’s imports from Iran dropped 39% in June from a year earlier, shipments from Iraq soared 445%.

Iraqi volumes have gained 38% in the first six months and now exceed those supplied by Iran.

Iraqi oil is also cheaper than that supplied by Iran, with the Chinese paying $97.84 a barrel in June.

While their may be slight quality differences, it appears that China has been able to replace Iranian volumes with cheaper cargoes from Iraq.

 Iraq Oil Report July 23rd, 2013

Iran has signed an agreement to send 850 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) of natural gas through a pipeline into Iraq, fueling power stations to feed electricity-starved Iraqis and testing the U.S.'s sanctions regime.   This is while the construction of the “friendship” pipeline between Iran, Iraq and Syria has been under way since last year.

The pipeline will stretch from Assaluyeh, near the massive offshore South Pars Gas Field in southern Iran, and will continue into neighboring Iraq to feed Iraqi power plants running on gas. Iran, which sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to up its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in South Pars Gas Field.

5/9/2013

  

Action Identifies Front Company and Vessels Attempting to Obscure Iranian Oil Deals Using Ship-to-Ship Transfers and Designates Iranian Bank

The Treasury Department said that Ferland Company Limited, which is based in both Cyprus and Ukraine, facilitated deceptive transactions for or on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). The two entities conspired with Dimitris Cambis, a Greek businessman who has been previously identified as using his tankers to help Iran hide oil shipments in a scheme to sell Iranian crude oil deceptively.

The US on Friday identified eight petrochemical companies it says are owned or controlled by the government of Iran and are therefore subject to sanctions. The eight companies named as being owned or controlled by Iran include: Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Company, Mobin Petrochemical Company, Nouri Petrochemical Company, Pars Petrochemical Company, Shahid Tondgooyan Petrochemical Company, Shazand Petrochemical Company, and Tabriz Petrochemical Company.

The two companies identified by the State Department as conducting petrochemical products transactions are Jam Petrochemical Company and Niksima Food and Beverage JLT.

[May 13]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury is taking a number of actions today against Iranian attempts to circumvent international financial sanctions.  As part of the Treasury Department’s continuing vigilance against Iran’s efforts to use front companies and deceptive business practices to sell their oil on the international market, today Treasury identified Sambouk Shipping FZC as subject to sanctions under Executive Order (E.O.) 13599, which, among other things, targets the Government of Iran (GOI) and persons acting for or on behalf of the GOI.  Sambouk Shipping is tied to Dr. Dimitris Cambis who, along with a network of front companies, were sanctioned in March 2013 under E.O. 13599 and the Iran Threat Reduction Act and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (TRA) after the U.S. government uncovered Dr. Cambis’s scheme to evade international oil sanctions against Iran.  In an attempt to continue his scheme, Dr. Cambis is using the recently formed Sambouk Shipping to manage eight of the vessels that he operates on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).  These vessels have been used to execute ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil in the Persian Gulf.  These transfers are intended to facilitate deceptive sales of Iranian oil by obscuring the origin of that oil.

 Dimitris Cambis has been black-listed by U.S. Treasury, here 

- U.S. lawmakers will introduce a bill on February 27 that expands economic penalties against Iran and is designed to force countries like China to buy less Iranian crude oil

The legislation by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Republican Ed Royce of California and the panel's top Democrat Eliot Engel of New York builds on existing U.S. sanctions that have so far led to the devaluation of Iran's currency and slashed the country's main source of funding - oil revenues.

[February 26]

Glaros

 Leycothea

Nereyda

Ocean Nymph

Ocean Performer

Seagull

Ulysses I

Zap

Dimitris Cambis, President at Athene consulting house sa , 6, Vassilissis Sofias Ave. GR-10674 Athens, Greece +30 210 7263300 +30 210 7263399  ach@ach.gr who last year bought the ships - eight very large crude carriers, or VLCCs - to carry Middle East crude to Asia, flatly denied doing any business with Tehran or running clandestine shipments of its oil to China He denied his vessels have loaded oil from Iran while at anchor in the Gulf. Known as ship-to-ship transfers, or STS, such movements are hard to track as crews can switch off tracking beacons or not update their recorded positions for periods to conceal that one vessel has come alongside another.

Tankers sail in figure eights

reported tanker locations

Not everyone associated with the oil industry is losing these days. As the enormous ships sail in figure eights around the globe, the tanker companies are reaping the rewards, making as much as $70,000 a day, if not more, for their services.

 Such is the state of the oil industry these days that there is sometimes nowhere to put the oil. Off the coast of Texas, a line of roughly 40 tankers has formed, waiting to unload their crude or, in some cases, for a willing buyer to come along. Similar scenes are playing out off the coasts of Singapore and China and in the Persian Gulf.

[June 5 floating storage: low crude steep contango]

50 million barrels of crude were added to floating storage globally since January,   According to Iranian officials, the country's approximate 50 million barrels stored at sea is mostly condensate and fuel oil, and not crude as some traders fear.   Ccondensate condenses out of the natural  gas if the temperature is reduced to below the hydrocarbon dew point temperature of the raw gas.   Due to the steep contango in the forward curve, the investors best positioned to execute on a long oil trade are those who have the capacity to buy a few thousand barrels of oil, store it in their backyard, and sell it in a few months.  For everyone else, be prepared to pay handsomely for that storage.

[June 5 The fading contango: tankers used for floating storage.freed up as oil unloaded]

Physical oil is coming under pressure as trade houses unwind a profitable storage play after several months that saw them holding millions of barrels on tankers at sea.  Charterers made fresh efforts to get rates below the psychological mark of w60 Worldscale rates for VLCCs on the Persian Gulf to East routes, The key PG-Japan rate was assessed unchanged at w59.. The market is very volatile and if there are one or two replacement or date sensitive cargoes, they push up the rates,

[earlier]

Freight rates for dirty tankers in the East of Suez market have gone up sharply to hit their highest level so far in 2015 lately, amid strong demand to move crude and fuel oil and spike in interest for floating storage.   The long waiting time in Basrah for ships to load and delays in discharging at South Korea and China due to logistics and weather issues also reduced tonnage supply, contributing to firming rates.

[May 13 ]
More VLCCss were being used for storage over the last four – six weeks.   A third of the vessels taken on time charter earlier in the year are now used for floating storage. Most of these are in the Arabian Gulf, but there also some in Singapore, West Africa and the Mediterranean.

[April 24 tankers for crude storage]

Invalid locations?

As much as 90 percent of global oil storage capacity is “captive,” or controlled by major producers such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc or Chevron Corp. That means only a small part of land-based oil storage is available for independent traders to lease to exploit the market contango, which has prevailed since July.


Some of the world’s largest oil traders have moved to secure floating storage in tankers to take advantage of the market contango. Vitol, Koch Industries Inc., Shell and Trafigura Beheer BV, have booked tankers that could be used to store crude at sea for one-year charters, The last time the oil market moved into a significant contango during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, traders stored 100 million barrels at sea.

[December 12 2014 ]
Seaborne oil trade will rise by 3.5 percent in 2015, against no change in the fleet,  83 very large crude carriers were bound for Chinese ports, at about 8:30 a.m. December 12in London. The ships would transport 166 million barrels, assuming standard cargoes, the largest number in data starting in October 2011. The cost of hiring the vessels surged to the highest in almost five years.   Part of the tanker freight-rate rally may be because of rising shipments from West Africa. Traders booked 33 cargoes of crude on VLCCs from the region this month, 43 percent more than a year earlier.

[October 29  Phantom Ships in the Northwest Passage]
To hide their crimes on the high-seas, hundreds of ships broadcast false identities by using transmitters taken from scrapped vessels on the black market and by typing in made-up ID numbers and hoping they don't arouse suspicion.    Fifteen percent of all ships transmitting fake identities are tankers, typically carrying oil or oil products.    Vessels smuggling oil shipments or other raw materials can lead to significant gaps in intelligence on supply and demand.    large shipping companies seeking to maintain market opaqueness, oil tankers circumventing international sanctions, and large oil producers concealing oil via floating storage in order to affect global oil prices. This group will likely be followed by far more ships seeking to conceal their information in the future.

The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

[May 9 2010 Sitting Ducks for pirates: idling tankers]

At least 15 VLCC crude carriers are idling in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Suez. The tankers can store a combined 30 million barrels of oil.

Traders store oil hoping to benefit from a so-called contango structure in futures markets, in which prompt prices are lower than contracts for later delivery. Traders can make money when the difference in prices is greater than the cost to charter the ship.

The contango between the front-month crude contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the second-month contract to the highest level since Dec. 15. Dirty products usually include crude oil and may include fuel oil.

The VLCC rate was $43,876 a day as of April 23, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. The rate has more than doubled this year. VLCCs can carry about 2 million barrels of oil.


Iran, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, added three supertankers to its fleet of vessels storing crude, matching a similar program in 2008 that helped freight rates to triple, ship tracking data show.

Two years ago, Iran used as many as 15 tankers for storage, constricting vessel supply and helping to more than triple freight rates in less than three months.

Iran is likely storing oil because of weakening demand as refineries across Asia, accounting for almost two-thirds of global demand for supertankers, carry out maintenance. National Iranian Tanker Co., which operates the supertankers, also has a laden suezmax tanker idling off Iran, ship-tracking data show. A suezmax can hold about 1 million barrels of oil.

three more years for rates to recover: Too many crude carriers in Gulf

The biggest glut since 1996 in the supply of the largest oil tankers means owners will have to wait three more years for rates to recover, Moeller-Maersk A/S.

The global fleet of very large crude carriers expanded 28 percent over the last four years, Hanne Sorensen, chief executive officer of Maersk Tankers, said in response to e- mailed questions yesterday. The fleet is currently oversupplied by about 70 ships and as many as 50 more VLCCs will be delivered this year, Sorensen said.

The expansion followed a surge in shipbuilding that began in 2007 and 2008, when daily returns rose as high as $229,000, according to data from Clarkson Plc, the world’s biggest shipbroker. Daily earnings for supertankers plunged 71 percent to $8,705 in the past 12 months, Clarkson data show, amid the longest series of OPEC production cuts in four years. Frontline Ltd., the VLCC operator led by billionaire John Fredriksen, said Feb. 22 it needs daily returns of $24,200 to break even.

“We have to go back to 1996 to find a situation as challenged as the one we have today,” Sorensen said. “A recovery must be supply-driven, and that is not likely in the coming three years. The key area of demand for VLCCs is crude exports from the Persian Gulf to Asia,China, Japan, South Korea and India.”

[March 4]
Daily losses for VLCCs hauling Middle East crude to Asia as determined by the London-based Baltic Exchange, a global benchmark, widened to $3,514 from $3,082 on March 1. The ships lost $5,072 a day last month on average, exchange data show.

More Tankers More Pirates

A crude oil spill in the booster pump room basement at Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay Alaska may send more crude tankers through the Gulf of Aden. The northeast monsoon affects the Horn of Africa more directly than the southwest monsoon, thus piracy from small boats is likely to move deeper into the Gulf of Aden, December to March. Demand may be strengthened by the closing of a pipeline feeding Alaskan crude oil to other U.S. states. The shutdown may prompt U.S. refineries to bolster imports of crude from overseas. The Trans-Alaska pipeline system, which transports oil from the Prudhoe Bay field, was closed on Saturday following the discovery of a leak. A BP spokesman based in America described the leak as "a significant event" and it is not clear how long it will take to restart production.
Prudhoe Bay is America's largest oil reserve. BP is the largest shareholder in the company which runs the Trans-Alaska pipeline, called Alyeska Pipeline Service. The leak occurred at a pumping station at Alaska's North Slope, and forced 95% of oil production at the site to be cut off. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the pipeline's operator, has engineers working around the clock to restart the pipeline by constructing a 170-foot, 24-inch bypass section around the pump station where a leak was discovered Saturday in Prudhoe Bay. Charter rates for very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, declined because of a surplus of ships for hire. The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index, a wider measure of crude-oil transportation costs, fell 1.7 percent to 763 points.

M. Star: dent from a submarine collision?

U.A.E. port officials examining M. Star said it may have hit a submarine or a mine. earlier

Samho Dream: 30 million ransom demand

Captain Kim, Myung-Sung, the Commanding Officer of the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer CHUNGMUGONG YI SUN-SHIN



A South Korean foreign affairs source on April 14 said CHUNGMUGONG YISUNSHIN DDH-975 KDX-2 class destroyer dispatched to trail the Samho Dream, a supertanker that was hijacked by Somalian pirates on April 4 had been given orders to break off pursuit and return to base. According to another source, the pirates demanded $10 million to $30 million in ransom for the men aboard the tanker from operator Samho Shipping. The 319,000 deadweight tonnage Samho Dream, which was built in 2002, is carrying crude oil that could be worth as much as $170 million at current oil prices. It holds the equivalent of more than one day's worth of Iraqi exports.

Samho Dream: Hijacked 'anchors near Somalia'

South Korea says a super-tanker hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean has anchored about 7km (four miles) off the coast of Somalia.

The foreign ministry in Seoul said the 300,000-ton ship, laden with crude oil, arrived late on April 7. South Korean owner of the ship, Samho Shipping Company, has also made its first contact with the pirates as the hijackers demanded direct talks with the ship's owner. "The pirates have told the navy unit through the ship's captain that all crew members are currently safe, but their lives will be at risk if the navy ship tried to close in on the Samho Dream,"

Samho Dream: pirates have not made contact

CHUNGMUGONG YISUNSHIN DDH-975 KDX-2 class destroyer, sister to ROKN Dae Joyeong (DDH977), arrived in waters near the Samho Dream at around 1:20 a.m. (Seoul time) and is now operating in its vicinity. The 4,500-ton destroyer was keeping a close watch over the hijacked vessel about 30 miles away, . The South Korean-operated tanker, carrying five The destroyer, which had been operating in Somali waters as part of global efforts to fight piracy, was ordered to speed to the seized ship. Foreign ministry officials earlier said the destroyer will not attempt to intercept or board the hijacked vessel, as the move could put the ship''s crew at a greater risk. The ship''s South Korean operator, Samho Shipping Co., said the pirates have not yet made any contact to make demands for the release of the ship and its crew members

.Balloonimg VLCC traffic past Somalia
The number of very large crude carriers chartered on the spot market for March loadings closed at 107 yesterday — 23 more than the same month in 2009, and just under the 108 reported in March 2007.
Advert

Rise in VLCC charters pushes rates near $60,000 per day.

Spike sees charterers pay a premium on spot market to cover loading dates at end of month.

The number of very large crude carriers chartered on the spot market for March loadings closed at 107 yesterday — 23 more than the same month in 2009, and just under the 108 reported in March 2007.

The spike in March loadings saw charterers pay a premium to cover dates for the final days of the month, thinning out tonnage available for the first 10 days of April.

As a result, daily earnings for VLCCs shipping crude from the Middle East Gulf to Asia are nearing $60,000, and are up 48% since March 1 on the major index route from Saudi Arabia to Japan.

But rates remain soft for Atlantic trading, with VLCCs heading west to the US recording lesser gains, to hit nearly $26,000 per day. Brokers said westbound rates might improve as high distillate draws motivate refiners to increase runs in the US.

So far, some 16 VLCCs have been booked to c over cargoes for the first 10 days of April. Another 30 are expected to come into the market over the next week for this time period, one broker reported, with two VLCCs already booked for later loadings.

SAMHO DREAM: VLCC hijacked, Haradheere next

Samho Dream IMO Number 9235737 Flag: Marshall Islands, SAMHO SHIPPING CO.,LTD, 319,360 DWT ,VLCC Build.Dec.2002.
Supertanker was hijacked off Somalia on a voyage from from Iraq to Louisiana. The ship was now heading for Haradheere, the port and pirates' base at which many ships are held during ransom negotiations. MUTUAL UNDERWRITING, U.K.



ex- NEPTUNE, Liberia-flag
SELLERS DYNACOM. TANKERS MANAGEMENT. GREECE $136.50m
WORLD PROGRESS since 2004 Feb 04 sold ORIENTAL SHIPPING LIMITED

Arctic Sea: a floating object?

Viktor Matveyev, Solchart Finland, the reputed manager of the Arctic Sea claims on its website that this statement comes from Las Palmas. Gran Canaria:

The free translation of the Port Captain decision.

1) vessel has Russian Military armed on board

2) Vessel is custody by the Russian Army units out of Spanish
territorial waters, its mean that vessel has been taken by this authority as
the Malta state does not recover their protection.

3) Due to the previous 2nd paragraph, the flag state control ( Malta) must foce the vessel to comply with the article 94 (bargain of unit nations) agreed in Montego Bay Dec. 10th 1.982. and specially in what respect to the security of the persons on board, navigation and see waters medium. Due to that and taking in consideration that vessel has not flag state and did not comply with other mentioned requisites, we do not consider to Artic Sea like a merchant vessel but like a floating object taken by the foreign naval army.

In view of that, the Port Captain does not authorize the navigation of
Arctic Sea in Spanish sea waters.

Sounds like Viktor Matveyev is preparing his defense against Finnish/Baltic Powers charges

Sirius Star: Combined Maritime Forces photos

Sirius Star sees pirate big fishes

The pirate big fishes left Harardhere on Thursday afternoon to the Sirius Star ship to get the ransom money and to set free the ship. The money had been paid in Kenya and reached the Somali pirates on a boat from Mombassa, Kenya.

Piracy off Somalia to get worse

C-SPAN watch

Panelists talked about recent attacks on international commerce in the Gulf of Aden and increased threats to trade by piracy. Among the topics they addressed were a growing threat posed by Somali pirates, the impact on political stability and maritime security of the seizure of ships and cargo, and potential responses by the international community to the problem.

Where in shallow waters is Sirius Star?

NYANGUMI II
The Sirius Star's captain, Marek Nishky, was allowed to speak to the BBC by telephone although under the scrutiny of one or more of his captors. He said that the ship was "basically" in the same location, but do not ask me such questions. There are also conflicting claims concerning the ship’s location, moved because militant Islamists have objected to the pirates taking a vessel owned by a Muslim nation.

Bloomberg claims that the vessel had already been moved from its former position near Haradhere, north of Mogadishu, while Agence France Presse said it is preparing to move. It is unclear where else the vessel might be positioned in Somalia’s shallow coastal waters.

The Islamic Courts Union claims control of Somalia against Ethiopian irregulars financed by the U.S.

Somalia Islamic Courts Union backs Sirius Star

Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi Arabian supertanker moved the vessel from its location at the port city of Harardhere, after Islamist militias threatened to attack them and rescue the ship, a tribal elder said.

The Islamic Courts Union warned the pirates who hijacked a Saudi Arabian supertanker to leave Harardhere, Ali Elmi, a local elder in the town, said. The tanker was taken out to sea and its destination isn’t clear. Al-Shabaab, a separate Islamist group, also said it would attack the pirates if they don’t free the ship.

Enter the Kidnap & Ransom specialist K&R

There are around 12,000 pirates in the water now and all of them know that a ransom has been asked for. A kidnap-for-ransom consultant, known as a K&R specialist, is likely telling that now to the Saudi firm that wants to recover its supertanker the Sirius Star, loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.Consequently, a new industry has sprung up in the neighboring country of Kenya where tugboat captains in the coastal city of Mombasa offer to make the drop for a fee. As hijackings have increased and ransom payments have grown more extravagant, so have the delivery fees.

Owners of Sirius Star are the final arbiters of what happens

The pirates are expected to table an opening demand for the return of Vela-operated very large crude carrier Sirius Star in the order of $20-50m, before finally settling for $5m-$10m. Somalian pirate interests could have already demanded a ransom of $25m, giving a 10-day deadline for payment.
According to the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, "I know the owners of the tanker are negotiating on the issue. We do not like to negotiate with terrorists or hijackers. But the owners of the tanker, they are the final arbiters of what happens there."
A previously captured fishing boat being used by pirates as a base to launch their speedboats far out to sea was destroyed by INS frigate Tabar. Two speedboats escaped.

Provisions for Sirius Star

Haradhere beach
Somali businessmen are sending food, cigarettes and drinks to a hijacked Saudi supertanker. Fisherman Hassan Jimale says he saw three boats make return trips to the supertanker overnight.

Liberian-flag Sirius Star seized by pirates

The U.S. Navy says pirates who seized a Saudi-owned oil supertanker are taking the ship to a Somali port where hijacked vessels are often held.

Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen of the U.S. 5th Fleet says the pirates holding the MV Sirius Star are "nearing an anchorage point" of the town of Eyl. The port has become a haven for pirates and a number of other ships are still being held there. Sirius Star has been freed, some say. The VLCC is three times the size of a U.S. aircraft carrier. The vessel had been headed for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. The Saudi Aramco VLCC MV Sirius Star is one of six very large tankers owned by Vela International Marine and built in South Korea, and registered in Liberia. Vela International Marine Limited is one of the largest crude oil tanker companies in the world and is a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). Vela currently owns and operates a modern fleet of 19 Very Large Crude Oil Carriers (VLCCs) and five product tankers of various sizes and also serves as charterer for all of Saudi Aramco"s CIF and ex-ship crude oil and product deliveries worldwide.


Vela’s owned and chartered VLCCs conduct trade primarily between the Middle East, Europe and the United States Gulf Coast. Vela"s owned and chartered product tankers operate exclusively in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coastal trade. Vela is committed to continue building and operating the most modern, high-quality tankers in the world.