In Port News 19/08/2016
The first Suezmax tanker to transit the newly expanded Panama Canal is slated to pass through on Thursday, the canal authority said Wednesday.
The Aegean Unity will be the first Suezmax to pass through the widened waterway, the Panama Canal Authority confirmed. The ship will make the northbound transit from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
According to cFlow, S&P Global Platts trade flow software, the Aegean Unity is anchored in the Pacific Ocean just off the Panamanian Coast.
“She is in position for that move,” a shipbroker said. “She is anchored outside the canal.”
A source with a shipowner was surprised by the news that Suezmax was going to pass through the canal.
“I had not heard about that,” he said. “I’m a little surprised, because we were told that no slots were available.”
Another shipping source said the vessel was chartered by Bear, the Core shipping arm. The Aegean Unity is bound for the Statoil terminal at South Riding Point, Bahamas.
The ship will be loaded with 710,000 barrels of Ecuadorean heavy crude, with the transaction having been completed about a month ago, according to industry sources. Although it is rare for Oriente crude to be sent to the Bahamas, limited barrels of Napo crude have been transported to the region and the nearby Gulf Coast region. With an API of 19 and a sulfur content of 2.01%, Napo is heavier than Oriente, which has an API of 24 and a sulfur content of 1.4%. As such, Napo is currently assessed at minus $9.75/b versus the Platts Latin American Brent Strip. This represents a $4.50/b discount to Oriente, currently assessed at PLABS minus $5.25/b.
At 710,000 barrels, the Aegean Unity will be filled to about 70% of its capacity. A fully laden Suezmax could not make the transit, as the canal is too shallow.
The Neopanamax locks at the canal are restricted to drafts of 13.41 meters or less. According to cFlow, the Aegean Unity is drawing 13 meters with its 710,000-barrel cargo.
SPARKING INTEREST
Circumstances also fell into place for the Aegean Unity to make the historic run. The Panama Canal also has a beam limit of 48 meters and the ship is 47 meters wide. Plus, it did not have to be retrofitted to be pulled through the canal by tugboats.
Newer tankers have the necessary Panama Canal chocks mounted on board that are used to move the ship through the canal.
In the past, ships larger than a Panamax did not need the chocks because they could not pass through canal.
“That ship is a newbuild, so it has all of the approvals,” a second shipbroker said.
Also, the ship needed to get to the Atlantic Ocean.
“That ship is supposed to be in the Bahamas August 25,” the second shipbroker said.
As take-or-pay contracts expire on the Trans-Panama Pipeline and as more ships become equipped with chocks to transit the canal, the waterway could see larger shipments of crude move through versus being sent through the pipeline.
“This will reduce the cost to go from the West Coast to the Caribbean, no question, and it will also put some pressure on TPP because there is less incentive to try to move barrels through the pipeline,” said an industry source familiar with the Americas crude markets. “It won’t just replace it though.”
The shipbroker said a Suezmax transiting the Panama Canal will spark interest finding new ways to move crude.
“This can open up new trade patterns and make routes more efficient,” he said. “It could affect the Caribbean, Asia and the US West Coast.”
Source: Platts
