TANKER owners worldwide are slow steaming again to mitigate losses from soaring bunker prices and shrinking profits, reports Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.
Slow steaming often has more impact on ballast speeds, as ships do not have the same expected demands of a charterer when the voyage is without cargo, said VesselsValue analyst Graham Close.
The average ballast speeds have decreased 3.2 per cent across very large crude carriers since December, according to VesselsValue's estimates for the Middle East.
Daily losses on the Persian Gulf-North Asia very large crude carrier routes are more than US$14,000, while for LR1 and LR2 clean voyages on same routes are up to $3,000, according to broker estimates. This is assuming bunker fuel prices of around $740 a tonne.
There has been a sharp rise in bunker prices as crude hit its highest in seven years, while several tanker sizes have slipped into the red.
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