Worries about oil transportation blockages

Korean shipping companies are worrying about transporting oil from the Middle East as the US has warned that it will take revenge after the worst terrorist attacks in history.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the shipping industry predicted that oil transportation troubles are inevitable, even though they may not be major, when the US hits Afghanistan for protecting Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in numerous terrorist attacks, including the recent attacks at the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

If the US attacks, the Arabian Sea, an oil transportation trade route, will turn into an attack base for the USS Enterprise, a US warship. Oil transportation from the Middle East may be restricted under US military guidance. During the Gulf War in 1991, oil transportation was delayed considerably due to the US military.

Hyundai Merchant Marine is concerned about when attacks will start because it was scheduled to carry oil from Iran and Qatar on September 17 and 19, respectively. HMM, Hanjin Shipping and SK shipping are now preparing for any possible actions, keeping in touch with MOMAF four times a day.

The above three shipping companies carried a total of 687 million barrels of oil last year from the Middle East, which accounted for 76.8% of all imported oil.

Oil imports amounted to 265 million barrels from Saudi Arabia, 128 million barrels from the United Arab Emirates, 81 million barrels from Iran, and 67 million barrels from Kuwait.

In the midst of rising worries about transport delays of LNG, LPG and crude oil, LPG imports amounted to 4.67 million tons, of which 83.5% or 3.90 million tons of LPG was imported from Arabic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. As much as 14.57 million tons of LNG was imported, of which 35% or 5.1 million tons came from Arabic countries such as Qatar and Oman.

A source at a shipping industry anticipated, "if the US attacks, it will be impossible to escape from cargo delays and oil transportation may even stop. Especially, things may worsen if Iraq gets involved. That would exacerbate the situation."