Venezuela Port Delays
June 15, 2016
Venezuela’s economy has been on a downward spiral since the collapse of global crude oil prices and the situation appears to be getting worse for the oil-dependent country as production dropped to 2.37 million b/d in May, down 10.7% from the full year average for 2015 (according to data published by OPEC).
Because of its continued economic hardship, cash-strapped Venezuela has been challenged to pay oil suppliers, delaying tankers from loading and unloading cargoes on time. Our analysis of AIS position data has showed a rising number of DPP tankers (27,000 dwt and above) either waiting in port or anchored within the port area since February 2016. 
As of the end of May, a high of 46 DPP tankers, 63% of which were Aframax vessels, were being held up around Venezuela’s main oil terminals, including Puerto Jose, Paraguana Refinery Complex, Bonaire Island and Bullen Bay. This is the largest buildup of tonnage we’ve recorded for the region since October 2015 (figure to the right). These ships experienced an average discharge time of 10 days, while loading days reached an average of seven during this time.
Although a tightening of the tonnage list was observed due to these port delays, TD9 (Carib/USG) rates plummeted 40 WS points in May. Aframax tankers have found triangulation opportunities in the region due to increased crude oil exports from the US Gulf and have been willing to accept lower TD9 rates because of this. To read more about the implication of the emerging US Gulf crude export dynamic for Aframax tankers, download our latest Industry Note – The Caribbean Carousel.
The backlog of DPP tankers has eased slightly to around 40 tankers as of the beginning of June, 64% of which are Aframax vessels. As more tankers are freed from delays and rejoin the trading fleet, we may continue to see further downward pressure on Aframax freight rates in the near term.
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