- Some of the world's largest oil traders are hiring supertankers to store crude at sea, Reuters reports: Trading firms including Vitol and Trafigura, and energy major Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) are said to have booked crude tankers for up to 12 months in the past week.
- Freight brokers and shipping sources consider the flurry of long-term bookings unusual and suggests that traders could use the vessels to store excess crude at sea until prices rebound, repeating a popular 2009 trading gambit when prices last crashed.
- Analysts at JBC Energy say floating storage, while a sign of an oversupplied market, may provide some temporary support for oil prices in the coming weeks.
- Related tanker companies: TK, TNK, TOO, TGP, TNP, FRO, GLNG, NAT, DHT.