Oil Tankers Drag Out Sailing Times as Surplus Snarls Ports
- First Saudi crude via the Cape in two years sails to Europe
- Lack of storage, low fuel costs make extended voyages viable
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When the supertanker New Vigorous arrived at the port of Antifer in northern France last Saturday, it made a small bit of maritime history.
The vessel, laden with 2 million barrels of crude, became the first in almost two years to make the voyage from Saudi Arabia to northwest Europe via South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope -- a journey that takes almost twice the time as the usual route through the Suez Canal. Now at least two more supertankers are doing the same.