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“We expect free passages will have to build over the weeks for the wider shipping community to gain confidence,” said Anoop Singh, Oil Brokerage’s global head of shipping research.
“Till such time, physical freight rates will likely remain elevated, and trading will remain slow.”29dk2902l
Under unrestricted navigation, the traffic pile-up on either side can be resolved in 8-10 days by OB’s calculations, Singh said.
“Furthermore, ship owners have positioned nearly 60 more VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) than usual within a few days of sailing to the ports West of Hormuz, in anticipation.”
A spokesperson for the Japanese Shipowners’ Association said on Monday that while the group welcomed the peace agreement, it wanted to “wait a little longer for more concrete information” when the U.S.-Iran pact is signed on June 19.
There had been news reports that mines had been laid in the area, the spokesperson said, adding: “Given the situation, we cannot simply say, ‘Right then, let’s go’ based on news of the agreement alone.”
Nippon Yusen, the country’s biggest shipper, said it hoped operations would return to normal as soon as possible, but a spokesperson added it was too early to comment on the schedules of Japan-linked vessels stranded in the Gulf.
He declined to say how many of the company’s ships remain in the Gulf.
A Mitsui O.S.K. Lines spokesperson said: “While we are aware of signs of progress towards a ceasefire, our policy remains unchanged; we will only resume navigation once safety has been fully confirmed.”
(Reporting by Emily Chow, Jeslyn Lerh and Trixie Yap in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Kentaro Okasaka and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kim Coghill)
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