Ships to US may face delays for oil clean up

Houston: Vessels traversing Atlantic routes to the US through the Gulf of Mexico may face delays entering American waters due to environmental concerns following the Deepwater Horizon BP oil well disaster (pictured). According to media reports, a 750-foot oil spill-stained tanker Omega Emmanuel saw delays for anchored cleaning prior to being granted permission to entering the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico.
This is said to be the first case of a relatively large commercial vessel was required to undergo cleaning. It is common practise for vessels fighting the spill to be cleaned before entering rivers or channels in order to contain the environmental damage from the oil pollution.

Tanker rates in the Gulf and Caribbean have increased since the spill began, from around $15,000 to $35,000 a day for Aframax tankers, but a shipping analyst told Reuters that the impact could increase if real delays become an issue. "Every day that the oil spill grows, so does the potential for this issue to have a larger impact on rates," said Mike Reardon, vice president of research and marketing with the Imarex freight derivatives exchange.  [27/05/10]