Monday, June 5, 2023
HomeHeadlinesNew York Draws Rare Jones Act Cargoes as Fuel Stocks Drop

Subscribe

To our FREE newsletter
Get all the latest maritime news delivered straight to your inbox.

New York Draws Rare Jones Act Cargoes as Fuel Stocks Drop

New York gasoline inventories are so low that suppliers are resorting to expensive US vessels to move fuel into the region and allay the potential for shortages.

Vessels Oregon and Sunshine State are en route to deliver fuel from Texas and Louisiana to New York by the end of the week, according to Bloomberg vessel tracking. The cargoes are likely to be gasoline, according to energy consultancy Kpler.

These movements underscore the need to refill gasoline and diesel tanks in the New York Harbor region, which stand at their emptiest levels in nearly three decades of government recordkeeping. Supply is shrinking at a time when falling pump prices have lifted the country’s gasoline demand to a year-to-date high. Diesel demand usually begins to rise this time of year with annual crop harvests and distributors trying to stock up ahead of the upcoming heating season.

It’s rare, but not unheard of, for Jones Act vessels to move Gulf Coast fuel into New York, said Reid I’Anson, senior commodity analyst at Kpler. The East Coast relies on the Colonial Pipeline to deliver fuel from the US’s Gulf Coast refining belt and exports from Europe. However, European exports have fallen this month, forcing the market to seek shipping alternatives.

A century-old shipping law known as the Jones Act requires all goods moved between US ports to be transported on ships that are built domestically. Jones Act freight rates typically command a hefty premium over rates for similar routes in the international market, and currently stands at $4.54 a barrel, according to price reporting agency Argus Media.

Shippers are only willing to pay these rates when fuel prices in New York rise to significant premiums over the Gulf Coast, as they are now at 44 cents a gallon, according to Bloomberg data. The Colonial pipeline has been operating at maximum capacity for the past few months.

New York also drew several gasoline cargoes from the Bahamas this month for the first time since May, Vortexa data show. Bahamas’ storage terminals can function as a transshipment hub for fuel coming out of the Gulf Coast.

Source: Bloomberg

Related Posts

Video

Finance & Economy
Shipping News
Ports

BW LPG appoints new CFO

BW LPG announced that it has appointed Ms Samantha Xu as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 1 September 2023. Ms Xu has over 20 years...

Frontline Posts Highest First Quarter Results Since 2008

Frontline plc reported unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2023: Highlights Highest first quarter profit since 2008 of $199.6 million, or $0.90 per...

Diana Shipping posts slightly lower Q1 profit; takes out $123m in loans

Diana Shipping reported net income of $22.7 million and net income attributed to common stockholders of $21.3 million for the first quarter of 2023....

CMA CGM Profit Eases as Container Transport Demand Wanes

CMA CGM expects its profit to ease further for the rest of the year after a first-quarter decline, as an uncertain economy and influx...

Seanergy ‘well positioned to benefit from positive trend in Capesize market’

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp., announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per...

Taiwan Shipping Firms Set to Hand Out Bumper Bonuses Again

Taiwanese shipping companies are handing out bumper mid-year bonuses despite a slump in global...

Baltic index hits over 3-month low amid lower coal imports

The Baltic exchange’s main sea freight index extended losses for the 15th session straight...

Baltic index falls for the month as vessel demand wanes

The Baltic exchange’s main sea freight index recorded its first monthly decline in four...

North Korea missile tests endanger shipping, UN maritime agency told

North Korean missile tests are endangering the safety of commercial shipping in busy sea...

Singapore Clamps Down on Tankers as Dark Fleet Grows

Singapore’s detentions of oil and chemicals tankers have surged since early last year, highlighting...

DP World Completes Terminal Expansion Project Vancouver Port

DP World has completed the AED954 million ($259.78 million) Centerm expansion project, increasing container throughput at the Port of Vancouver by 60 percent. The terminal...

DP World completes AED 954 million Vancouver port expansion

DP World and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have celebrated two historic events – the completion of the Centerm Expansion Project at DP World...

Alexandroupolis port gets 24 million euros of EU funding

Greece has secured 24 million euros ($26 million) in European Union funding to upgrade its northern Aegean Sea port of Alexandroupolis, privatisation agency HRADF...

Port Hedland Iron Ore Exports Down 5% in April

Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) has delivered a total monthly throughput of 57.7 million tonnes (Mt) for April 2023. This throughput was a two per cent...

APM Terminals Reveals $1 Billion Investment in Brazil

APM Terminals’ CEO Keith Svendsen has pledged an investment of about US$1 billion in the company's Brazilian operations up to 2026. The amount includes around...