Lloyd’s List: Piracy Threat Eats Away at Tanker Daily Earnings

Piracy attacks have caused the number of large oil tankers transiting the Suez Canal to plummet more than 50% in three years, eroding owners’ daily earnings as they burn more bunker fuel to travel a longer, safer route. Increased risks of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, which leads into the Suez Canal, has caused shipowners to prefer to travel from the Middle East Gulf around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, according to the latest report from the research department of shipbrokers Poten & Partners. Reflecting this, the Suez Canal Authority has reported that only 76 laden very large crude carriers and suezmaxes have transited the Suez Canal so far this year, suggesting around 100 transits over the full year 2011, said Poten & Partners in its tanker report. By comparison, more than 220 very large crude carriers and suezmaxes were reported to have passed laden through the canal on voyages from the Middle East in 2008 — representing a fall of more than 50% from 2008 to 2011.”