By Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) – Iran faces a wrestle to extend oil exports as a result of lots of its tankers are tied up storing crude, some usually are not seaworthy, and international shipowners stay reluctant to hold its cargoes.

Tehran is looking for to make up for misplaced commerce to Europe following the lifting of EU sanctions imposed in 2011 and 2012, which disadvantaged it of a market that accounted for over a 3rd of its exports and left it relying fully on Asian patrons.

Iran has 55-60 oil tankers in its fleet, a senior Iranian authorities official advised Reuters. He declined to say what number of had been getting used to retailer unsold cargoes, however business sources stated 25-27 tankers had been parked in sea lanes near terminals together with Assaluyeh and Kharg Island for this objective.

Asked what number of tankers weren’t seaworthy and wanted to go to dry docks for refits to fulfill worldwide transport requirements, the senior official stated: “Around 20 large tankers … need to be modernized.”

An additional 11 Iranian tankers from the fleet had been carrying oil to Asian patrons on Tuesday, in accordance with Reuters transport knowledge and a supply who tracks tanker actions. That was broadly in step with the quantity persistently dedicated to Asian runs since sanctions had been lifted in January, placing extra pressure on the remaining out there fleet.

This means international ships are wanted for Iran’s plans for a giant export push to Europe and elsewhere, to fulfill its goal of reaching pre-sanctions gross sales ranges this 12 months. But many house owners, who usually are not in need of enterprise in a booming tanker market, are unwilling to take Iranian cargoes.

The principal purpose is that some U.S. restrictions on Tehran stay in place and prohibit any commerce in {dollars} or the involvement of U.S. companies together with banks – a significant hurdle for the oil and tanker trades, that are priced in {dollars}.

Eight international tankers, carrying a complete of round 8 million barrels of oil, have shipped Iranian crude to European locations since sanctions had been lifted in January, in accordance with knowledge from the tanker-tracking supply and ship brokers.

That equates to solely round 10 days’ price of gross sales on the ranges of pre-2012, when European patrons had been buying as a lot as 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the OPEC producer.

So far no Iranian tankers have made deliveries to Europe, in accordance with knowledge from the tanker-tracking supply.

‘PLENTY OF OTHER BUSINESS’

Paddy Rodgers, chief govt of main worldwide oil tanker firm Euronav, stated at current there was “no great urgency to do business in Iran.”

“There is not a premium to do business in Iran and there is plenty of other business – the markets are busy, rates are good. So there is no stress on wanting to do it,” he advised Reuters.

“I don’t really want to set up a euro bank account in Dubai in order to trade with Iran – that would crazy.”

Michele White, normal counsel with INTERTANKO, an affiliation which represents the vast majority of the world’s tanker fleet, stated: “We have witnessed a reluctance by our members generally to return to Iranian trade given the prohibition on use of the U.S. financial system – essentially no U.S. dollars.”

The senior Iranian authorities official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, acknowledged his nation was discovering it tough to rent international tankers.

“We are working on the problems. There are various issues involved, financial, banking and even insurance. It has improved a little bit since the lifting of sanctions but we still face serious problems.”

Asked if this and the necessity to modernize among the home fleet was holding again exports, he stated: “Of course it does.”

The pressure on Iran’s fleet is partly as a result of it has struggled to realize entry to land storage websites all over the world, as sanctions shut it out of the worldwide monetary community, making it extra reliant on floating storage than many oil-producing rivals together with Saudi Arabia.

The downside has been compounded by a worldwide oversupply of oil, and the business sources estimated Iranian tankers had been storing 45-50 million barrels of unsold crude.

POLITICAL RISK

Two different sources with different main oil tanker operators echoed the issues of Rodgers and White, and stated they weren’t doing Iran offers in the mean time.

One of the 2 sources stated with a brand new U.S. president to take workplace in January, tanker homeowners had been uncertain whether or not there may very well be any change to the nuclear deal Washington and different world powers agreed with Iran which led to the tip of sanctions.

“It does not appeal to them to take on the risk and the uncertainty of the U.S. connection and future U.S. political policy that would come into play,” stated the supply, who declined to be named, citing sensitivity over potential Iranian commerce.

Gavin Simmonds, of the UK Chamber of Shipping commerce affiliation, stated of the U.S. presidential timing and the worldwide oil oversupply: “Iran is rejoining the market at the worst possible time.”

Before 2012 Iran exported round 2 million bpd, with greater than half going to Asia, primarily China, South Korea, India and Japan. Tehran has been banned from promoting oil to the United States for many years.

The tanker business has cited different issues posed by Iranian enterprise. Ship insurers have plugged a shortfall in cowl that had been brought on by U.S. reinsurers being restrained by Washington’s sanctions, though tanker homeowners say it comes with dangers and it is also withdrawn if, as an example, wider sanctions are reimposed.

“Shipping insurance is still a problem. We see many buyers in the market still avoid buying from Iran,” Fereidun Fesharaki, founding father of vitality consultancy FGE, wrote in a observe.

Tanker business sources additionally pointed to studies that Iran’s arch rival Saudi Arabia had banned Iranian-flagged ships from getting into its waters with. Separate studies indicated Saudi ally Bahrain had imposed a ban on any vessels that visited Iran as one in every of its final three port calls.

“Any spread of the Bahrain-style ban on foreign ships that have recently called Iran can only fuel this hesitancy for owners who trade in the Middle East region,” stated INTERTANKO’s White. (Additional reporting by Libby George; Editing by Pravin Char)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.