Traders are holding around 1mn bl of refined products in higher-cost floating storage along the US east and Gulf coasts.
The Torm Carina and the STI Esles II, both 325,000 bl medium range (MR) tankers, have been sitting laden with non-US cargoes near Florida since 6 May and 24 April, respectively, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa. A third MR tanker, the Torm Camilla has been sitting in the US Gulf coast since it loaded there on 17 April.
The three tankers were among those booked in recent months on short-term time charters as the growing global oil glut that followed coronavirus-sapped consumption began to overwhelm land-based storage capacity.
BP chartered the Torm Carina for three months at $21,500/d, Lukoil fixed the Torm Camilla for three months at $19,500/d and Suncor chartered the STI Esles II, according to the Argus floating storage bookings database.
An additional 2mn bl of refined products has been sitting for over seven days in tankers that were not necessarily chartered for floating storage, according to vessel tracking. Port congestion in the US, though not as severe as in other regions such as Mexico, continues to delay some discharges. For example, the Jag Amisha, which was chartered before governments began to widely implement lockdown measures for a standard India-US Atlantic coast gasoline cargo, has been sitting partially laden outside New York Harbor since mid-April.
At least one tanker in the region that was booked for floating storage has begun to move. The Marika is en route to the Bahamas with roughly 500,000 bl of refined products after sitting idle for around a week near its loading point in Montreal. Argus data shows Suncor chartered the Marika for four to nine months for $32,000/d.
Traders have booked at least 64 clean tankers worldwide with floating storage options since March, according to the Argus floating storage bookings database.
