Market Flux Event
Tanker Sinking in Strait of Hormuz After Strike as Wave of Gulf Ship Attacks Kills One Seafarer
Read this in the Market Flux appA crude tanker identified as the VIEIRA, a Marshall Islands-flagged VLCC operated in connection with Greek shipping interests, was reported sinking in the Strait of Hormuz on November 6 after being targeted, according to Iran's Sepah News. The sinking came a day after the Greek-managed oil products tanker MT Velos Sapphire was struck by a suspected missile on November 5 as it sailed unladen toward Bahrain, killing one seafarer. Greek management firm Velos Tankers said no other crew members were injured and a fire caused by the blast was extinguished before the vessel was brought to Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Bahrain for hull damage assessment.
Maritime analyst Noam Raydan confirmed the VIEIRA, IMO 9234654, as the vessel targeted in the most recent incident. The VLCC has a history of trading Venezuelan crude and was believed to have loaded Iraqi Basrah crude in late October. Raydan noted that another VLCC, the GRIT, IMO 9243150, was attacked on November 3 and had also loaded in Basrah in late October, suggesting a pattern of strikes against vessels carrying Iraqi crude. By November 6, at least seven ship attacks had been confirmed in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways in November alone, including two VLCCs.
The attacks are compounding severe stress on global tanker markets. Freight rates have hit record highs, squeezing Indian refiners and Russian crude exporters, while disruptions have created major inefficiencies in crude logistics and are forcing tight rationing of scarce tanker capacity. Ukraine also intensified its separate campaign against Russian energy infrastructure overnight, striking the Afipsky refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, the sixth Russian crude-processing plant hit in a single week. Oil prices fell sharply as traders unwound bets on conflict escalation, dropping below $100 a barrel, though analysts cautioned the market remains around $20 backward on a year-over-year basis and that peace is far from certain.
© AI-generated summary is provided by Market Flux
Sources
- FinancialjuiceOne seafarer dead in the November 5th explosion on a Greek-operated oil products tanker in the Gulf, tanker was likely struck by unidentified missile - Greek operator
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- BusinessOil plunged below $100 as traders unwound wagers on conflict escalation. But while supplies look robust for now, peace is far from a safe bet, writes @alexlongley1
- Osint613NATO's Rutte on the U.S.-Russia diesel deal: I understand the panic in Europe over that diesel deal. I raised an eyebrow myself. But in the first half of this year, Europe bought €6 billion worth of LNG from Russia. That is much more than the diesel deal will ever generate. So Europe is not innocent either.
- IliaBouchouevIn my view, the significance of marginal contango in Dubai /Dated is overblown. It was just a short-term side effect in illiquid/manipulative markets driven by $25 "war is over" momentum washout in futures. The real market is still $20 backward on year/year basis.
- PiQMarketsOne seafarer killed in explosion on tanker in Gulf, manager says One seafarer was killed in an explosion on the oil products tanker MT Velos in the Gulf on November 5, the ship's manager said on November 6. Greek firm Velos Tankers said the tanker was sailing unladen toward Bahrain when it was hit and that the explosion was believed to have been caused by a missile attack.
- StaunovoTurkey’s military pension fund has emerged as a key trader of Libyan oil, boosting Ankara’s influence in the African country’s energy sector after years of political and military support. Ordu Yardimlasma Kurumu, better known as Oyak, started buying Libyan crude in January and its volumes have grown steadily since to about 6 million barrels per month, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. That’s equivalent to roughly 16% of Libya’s oil exports, based on data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. #oott
- MikeZaccardiGoldman Sachs' latest oil forecasts
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- ReutersSeafarer killed in suspected missile attack on tanker in Gulf
- NoamRaydan1/2 The tanker attacked here is crude tanker VIEIRA (IMO 9234654) - confirmed by Vanguard. The VLCC has a history of trading Venezuelan crude &had some activity in the EOPL. Based on available data, the tanker appear to have loaded Iraqi Basrah crude last month. The VLCC GRIT ( IMO 9243150), which was attacked on Nov 3, also loaded in late Oct in Basrah, Iraq. I'm updating the maritime attacks map, which many of you follow, shortly, and will share here. #OOTT #Shipping #IranWar
- RusOilGasExpert➡️ Record-high freight rates are squeezing both Indian refiners and Russian exporters. ➡️ Disruptions have injected major inefficiencies into crude logistics. The market is now rationing scarce tanker capacity as tightly as possible. ➡️ It’s not just the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. Russian crude no longer moves to nearby Europe, but is going to distant India and even-more-distant China. #OOTT #Russia #oil #tankers
- Bob_McNally"Olive" may be inserted before "oil" in these quotes and the sentiment remains valid. I imagine storage is a better way to manage olive oil supply than upstream production control - can't be chopping down those priceless trees.
- Cablefxmacro🛢️⚠️ Credit default swaps on Middle Eastern nations exposed to the Iran conflict continue to rise despite the recent selloff in crude oil benchmarks.
- InvestingSoaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen
- FxempireCrude Oil Forecast: Why Falling Inventories Keep Supply Risks in Focus
- JKempEnergyPhysical oil prices plunge, closing gap with futures Physical crude oil prices have slumped much faster than futures in the last few weeks, largely eliminating the record gap that opened up between them in September and the first part of October. The slide in physical crude prices has coincided with a sharp drop in the cost of chartering tankers to carry crude and heavy fuel oil from the record high set in the middle of October. But there has not been an equivalent softening of the calendar spreads in the futures market, which have remained broadly steady over the last two months. The sharp drop in prices has therefore been concentrated in the physical markets and on the most imminent delivery dates. Fundamental forces could explain the relative shift but the unwinding of a squeeze in the physical oil or tanker markets cannot be ruled out ... This is a short extract from my newsletter emailed to clients earlier today. If you would like to read my newsletters in full, three times a week, you can subscribe via my website
- NcitayimNEW: LNG supply through the strait of Hormuz remains high relative to post-war levels, with a least six cargoes passing through so far in November — about one a day — according to Argus daily tracking of LNG Hormuz transits. #oott