Platts to consider alternative routes for Middle East freight assessments as Iran crisis disrupts shipping
HOUSTON, March 3 (Reuters) - S&P Global Platts said it will consider alternative routes for Middle East freight assessments, citing shipping disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The war has halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities. It has damaged tankers and sharply reduced traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a pinch point through which some 20% of global oil output and a similar share of liquefied natural gas transits via ships from Middle East producers.
Platts said it will make freight assessments utilizing all available fixtures and market information within the region, and that in the absence of relevant fixtures, Platts will consider related routes, such as West Coast India-North Asia and Red Sea-North Asia, when assessing values.
Platts, one of the larger providers of price and transaction information on the oil and fuel markets for the industry, will continue to review shipping restrictions and their impact on the market, it added.
The agency on Monday suspended bids and offers for some price assessments of Middle East crude, refined products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) that transit the Strait of Hormuz.
It also suspended bids and offers for refined products on a free-on-board Arab Gulf or Fujairah basis for naphtha, gasoline, gasoil, jet fuel or fuel oil loading from any ports within the Gulf that require transit through the strait.
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