Oil Tankers Float for Weeks Offshore UK in Sign of Weak Demand
- Three ships loaded with Forties anchored for over two weeks
- Demand from European and Asian is weak while supply is ample
The Jaarli crude oil tanker.
Photographer: Morten Weesgaard/MarineTrafficThis article is for subscribers only.
Three tankers carrying North Sea Forties crude have been floating off European shores for more than two weeks without discharge, a sign of weakening demand from refineries in Europe and Asia.
All three ships that loaded the grade from May 1-12 are still at sea. Two vessels — the Jaarli and the Jatuli — are anchored off Britain’s Hound Point, the loading terminal for Forties crude, while the other tanker — Thornbury — has been sitting off Rotterdam since May 18 after spending 10 days off Hound Point.