On October 2 we saw "
COSCO Sanctions Send U.S. to Asia Tanker Rates to Record High" at Reuters via gCaptain:
...South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy chartered a supertanker, Maxim, to
ship U.S. crude to South Korea in November for $10 million, the highest
price for a U.S. Gulf-to-Asia shipment ever, two sources familiar with
the matter said. SK could not be reached for comment....MUCH MORE
This was followed, on October 4, by "
VLCC Rates Surge as U.S. Sanctions COSCO" at MarineLink:
Freight rates to ship U.S. crude to Asia continued to surge,
with costs to charter a supertanker rising to a record $12 million on
Thursday, shipping sources familiar with the matter said.
South
Korea's top refiner, SK Energy, tentatively chartered the supertanker
Maxim to ship U.S. crude to South Korea in November for a record $10
million earlier in the week but that fixture has since failed, the
sources said.
The company now has conditionally booked the
Pacific M at a new record of $12.35 million, according to two shipping
sources and Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.
The United States last
week imposed sanctions on two units of China's COSCO, alleging
involvement in ferrying crude out of Iran. That sent tanker rates
surging and prompted U.S. Gulf Coast exporters to hold back chartering
COSCO-linked vessels, traders and shipbrokers said....MORE
According to the Reuters piece up to 36 tankers were effectively removed from the U.S. - China route by the sanctions.
