{"text":[[{"start":10,"text":"Soaring demand for oil tankers to shuttle oil out of the Gulf has pushed vessel prices to record highs as Middle Eastern countries search for ways to export cargoes despite the continuing strikes on ships."}],[{"start":22,"text":"The cost of both new-build and modern second-hand ships in the largest class of oil tanker has reached more than $130mn in the past quarter — the highest since 2008 — while rates to charter a supertanker for one year have also hit historic highs, according to shipbroker Braemar."}],[{"start":40,"text":"Oil-exporting countries looking to secure their own fleet of ships to get cargoes out were partly driving prices, especially for readily available second-hand ships and charters."}],[{"start":50,"text":"The oil-producing nations wanted better control of their own exports, said David Holland, head of sale and purchase at Braemar. “Physical control of assets is also important for some exporters in the Middle East.”"}],[{"start":62,"text":"Producers such as Iraq, which do not have their own ships, have been offering deeper discounts than usual to convince buyers to take the risk of sailing through the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":71,"text":"Negotiations between the US and Iran to reopen the strait as part of a wider peace deal have stalled in recent weeks amid an uptick in strikes on ships and energy facilities by Iran."}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":82,"text":"Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp have established a system of shuttle runs to ship oil from the Gulf through the strait to waiting tankers on the other side that can transport the cargoes to destination countries."}],[{"start":95,"text":"Adnoc Logistics & Services, the oil group’s shipping arm, intended to make “big investments in second-hand vessels to support Adnoc Group companies”, said its chief executive Abdulkareem Al Masabi."}],[{"start":106,"text":"He told analysts this month that the oil group had come to rely on Adnoc L&S for ships to sail through the chokepoint, which ordinarily handles about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies."}],[{"start":116,"text":"Adnoc in August bought six oil supertankers and five of the largest class of gas carriers for $1.3bn, all of which will immediately be deployed to support the oil company."}],[{"start":127,"text":"Thanks to the vessels they own, Adnoc has been able to maintain its oil shipments despite the increase in the number of attacks on its vessels. Iranian attacks on Adnoc ships have risen from once every 10 days earlier in the conflict to almost one a day in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter."}],[{"start":145,"text":"Shipbrokers said rising interest in ships from other oil-producing countries was driving up prices, although no deals had yet been signed."}],[{"start":153,"text":"Saudi Aramco recently offered several Asian customers cargoes of crude grades only shipped through the strait, indicating it could be joining the group of oil producers sailing cargoes through the chokepoint, according to pricing agency Argus."}],[{"start":166,"text":"Saudi shipping company Bahri earlier this month said its fleet had already reached a record 107 vessels, and brokers said the kingdom would need to secure more ships."}],[{"start":176,"text":"Aramco declined to comment on its offer to Asian buyers or the need for more ships."}],[{"start":182,"text":"Other potential vessel buyers were being attracted by the ships’ rising earnings power if they were quickly deployed in the Gulf to take advantage of the discounts being offered by exporting countries, brokers said."}],[{"start":194,"text":"Clarksons, a shipbroker, said spot market earnings for the largest oil tankers jumped 20 per cent this week, while the risk appetite of different shipowners was increasingly fragmenting the fleet."}],[{"start":205,"text":"“Higher-risk trades pay far more, with Red Sea-China around $318,000 per day and voyages from inside Hormuz to China above $550,000 per day,” it said."}],[{"start":217,"text":"Only 29 tankers account for more than 50 per cent of the runs in and out of Hormuz, according to shipping data group Vortexa."}],[{"start":225,"text":"The company taking most of the business shuttling through the strait has been the South Korean tanker operator Sinokor, which made a $5.9bn bet buying oil tankers just before the conflict broke out."}],[{"start":237,"text":"“Gulf exports continue to move, but the structure supporting those flows has changed. The highest-risk part of the journey is increasingly concentrated among a relatively small group of repeat vessels,” said Claire Jungman, director of marine risk and intelligence at Vortexa."}],[{"start":257.13,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787228806_4229.mp3"}