The Colonial Pipeline will restart this weekend, according to an announcement from the pipeline's operator.
The news puts a damper on further gains in earnings for medium-range (MR) tankers in the Atlantic Basin. Spot rates had surged to as much as $25,000 per day as charterers put more ships on subjects in hopes of capturing any arbitrage trade created by shortages or surpluses of clean petroleum products.
Line 1, which is the primary line for carrying gasoline into the US Southeast and Northeast markets, has a projected restart for Sunday afternoon, Colonial said in a statement issued last night. The company already had in place plans to make up for slack in gasoline shipments by transporting them in Line 2, which primarily carries other fuels and was undamaged in the fire that occurred earlier this week.
The US Southeast receives international gasoline cargoes primarily through MRs coming into the Port of Savannah, Georgia. There are also Jones Act barge and tanker movements into Florida. US regulators will relieve any potential gasoline shortages in the region through waiving limits on truck shipments.
