The Tanker Market under the spotlight  

The Tanker Market: Capitalizing on Strong Fundamentals Means Investor Upside is the topic of one of the main panel discussions of the 28th Annual Marine Money Week in New York sponsored by Deloitte’s Shipping & Ports Group. George D. Cambanis, Global Shipping & Ports Leader, moderated the panel discussion in which some of the world’s leading shipowners participated: Nikolai Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President & CFO Sovcomflot; Marco Fiori, CEO d'Amico International Shipping S.A.; Ted C. Petrone, Vice Chairman Navios Corporation; Claus Grønborg, Vice President and Head of Business Development Maersk Tankers; Anthony Gurnee, CEO Ardmore Shipping Corporation

The significant tanker market disruptors which formed the basis of the panel discussion:

• Shale gas: The fracking innovation disrupted oil bringing in a new oil era with the US doubling its production in 2014. US shale oil companies first-quarter results demonstrate costs cutting and productivity increase along with sharply decreased crude prices since last summer.
• Middle East’s fast growing refining capacity: Middle East expands its influence beyond just exporting vast amounts of unprocessed crude with the new oil refineries in the oil-producing regions shaking up fuel markets from Asia to Europe.
• China’s overtaking US as an oil importer: China overtook the US as the world’s largest importer of crude oil in April. This development results in a major shift in global oil flows over the past decade. It also illustrates two facts: the US shale revolution cutting down the country’s reliance on oil from overseas and China’s demand growth when its economy slows down.

The impact of these industry disruptors have resulted in a shift in the flow of oil from the Middle East to the Far East.