Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the biggest refiner in the country, did not receive any bids in a tender to charter three tankers to pick up crude and gas from the Persian Gulf and ship the volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, trade sources with knowledge of the development told Reuters on Tuesday.
Since the Strait of Hormuz tentatively reopened at the end of last week, vessel traffic has picked up, especially for outbound tankers that have been stuck for months in the Gulf. But many shipowners and operators remain very cautious about their willingness to send tankers inbound through the Strait into the Persian Gulf to pick up cargoes. Amid continued volatile situation with the passage of ships through Hormuz, most tanker owners wait for certainties and clearance that it is safe to send vessels to the Gulf without risks they would be stranded again if the situation abruptly deteriorates.
“No one wants to take a risk as yet of going into the Strait,” one ship broker told Reuters.
“Most ship owners are in wait-and-watch mode as they want clarity on the terms of getting into the strait,” the broker added.
India’s top refiner last week sought to charter via a tender an oil supertanker, a Suezmax, and a very large gas carrier (VLGC) to pick up cargoes from the Gulf. IOC wanted a supertanker to load oil from Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait and a Suezmax to pick up a cargo from Ras Al Khafji in Saudi Arabia, with both liftings planned for the end of June. The gas carrier was supposed to lift liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), India’s main cooking fuel, from Kuwait, Qatar, or the UAE.
However, IOC has received no bids in the tender for chartering the vessels, sources told Reuters today.
India’s struggles to book tankers highlights the still precarious security situation around the Strait of Hormuz, with tanker owners and shippers still waiting for clear signals traffic will not stall again.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
