|
With the US-led war on Iraq entering
its second week this week, container
shipping lines have hiked war risk
premium by more than five times
while tanker freight rates have more
than doubled.
Shipments to West Asia now carries a huge premium with the increased burden
of cost borne by traders as shipping lines shift increased costs impacted by
the war.
With the prospects that the war could become protracted, shipping lines are
bracing for further increases, especially in the light of the recent
escalation in oil prices.
Higher oil prices will lead lines to impose higher bunker surcharge.
Oil prices shot up to the highest level since the start of the war in Iraq
on Friday as traders took fright at fresh signs that the US and British
troops may get bogged down in months of tough fighting.
The price of reference Brent North
Sea crude for May delivery rose 67
cents per barrel from the previous
closing to US$27.49 in early
trading.
New York's benchmark light sweet
crude contract for May delivery
edged up by 35 cents to US$30.72 a
barrel in out-of-hours electronic
trading, having leapt by US$1.74 the
previous day. |
