China's Supertanker Traffic Jam Propels Global Shipping Rates
Oil tankers are anchored near the Port of Long Beach, California, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009. A surplus of idled oil tankers, which would stretch 26 miles if lined up end to end, may signal a 25 percent slump in freight rates this year. The ships will unload 26 percent of the crude and oil products they are storing in six months, adding to vessel supply and pushing rates for supertankers down to an average of $30,000 a day, compared with $40,212 now.
Photographer: Tim Rue/BloombergSupertankers hauling crude to China are contending with increased waiting times to unload as some on-land storage depots reach capacity amid an oil-buying binge by the world’s most populous nation.
At least 19 two-million-barrel-capacity ships -- known as VLCCs -- were stationed off China’s coast for two weeks or more, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg on Oct.