Petrol price speculation?

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 13:41
Petrol price speculation? - Ethan Edwards

Spent the weekend on the Isle of Wight at Bembridge. I was a bit surprised at the number of oil tankers just anchored in the solent. Whats going on? Are they really just waiting there for the price to go up before they unload? Is it speculation? Lots of ferries and container ships passing by but virtually all the tankers just sitting there.

Anyone know more?

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 14:38
Petrol price speculation? - RT

It's a sheltered mooring for ships waiting to load or unload, and/or waiting for high tide to get into their berth.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 16:48
Petrol price speculation? - Ethan Edwards

Several were anchored there for all three days that I was there.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 17:04
Petrol price speculation? - Engineer Andy
I've seen simular ships anchored off Plymouth whilst on holiday - I think they often wait for prices to rise on the wholesale market and then dock to unload and sell on.
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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:32
Petrol price speculation? - alan1302
I've seen simular ships anchored off Plymouth whilst on holiday - I think they often wait for prices to rise on the wholesale market and then dock to unload and sell on.

What about the mooring costs/staffing costs? They can't afford to keep the ship waiting any longer than needed as they need to get back and filled up.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 19:47
Petrol price speculation? - Bolt

Spent the weekend on the Isle of Wight at Bembridge. I was a bit surprised at the number of oil tankers just anchored in the solent. Whats going on? Are they really just waiting there for the price to go up before they unload? Is it speculation? Lots of ferries and container ships passing by but virtually all the tankers just sitting there.

Anyone know more?

I go there every year and its nothing unusual to see them waiting just off Sandown, if you go to viewpoint you get a better view, some wait for weeks

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:03
Petrol price speculation? - Chris79
There's not a lot of spare capacity in our infrastructure.. In London it's pretty much at least 1 tanker with 30000 tonnes of ULSD or unleaded on every day. They will often be at anchor for a few days before hand as it is key that the fuel is available I.e. As soon as one tnaker has finished discharging the next one is straight on. Think of how much fuel the South East uses per day.

Having tankers chartered with a day rate in the thousands just lying there idle until the berth is ready probably doesn't help our fuel prices. Then throw in tugs, pilots linesmen and the cost of transporting from import terminal to garage and you start to marvel at how the process is done so cheaply. Shame about the tax that is added on!.
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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:46
Petrol price speculation? - Bromptonaut

Spot prices might rise or fall. Unless you've significant inside knowledge it doesn't seem worth a tanker and crew 'holding off' on offchance.

Coming back from Dunkerque to Dover a few years ago we passed tankers moored off coast. Fellow passengers speculated as above - laden and waiting for best price. Ex-mariner pointed out the almost exposed propellers, rudders and bow bulges; very high in water if laden.....

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:52
Petrol price speculation? - Chris79
The old Coryton oil refinery was filled up with petrol once the price fell to around £1 a litre. At one point there was 500000 tonnes there I'm told. Once the price started to increase we saw it shipped out bit by bit. Someone made a killing.

Oil tankers do fill up and then proceed to a certain point say straits of gib before a decision is made on the final destination. Equally so it is not unknown for supertankers to sit idle with there tanks full.

If you did have a good understanding of the market then there's good money to be made. 3 supertankers is equal to a million tonnes, if the price goes up 10% then that's a big diffference.
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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:50
Petrol price speculation? - Smileyman

I dread to think of the alternative ... so an extra tanker or two moored up acting as an off shore storage facility is not such a bad idea. We could do with a few extra tankers with gas moored up too, "just in case" it's a cold winter.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 22:22
Petrol price speculation? - Bolt

This site tells you what's at anchor and what's under way, I think there's an ap for it as well for android

www.john-ambler.com/ais/google.html

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 00:05
Petrol price speculation? - focussed

The tankers that you saw anchored in the Nab anchorage will be waiting to berth at Esso Fawley jetty ( it's a mile long!) mostly loaded with crude for the refinery that provides 20% of the fuel for the UK. It's on the west side of Southampton water.

The Nab anchorage is named after the Nab Tower a large navigation mark east of the I of W.

(I used to keep a small boat up the Hamble river years ago and sailed in that area)

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