Hurricane Sandy Seen by Platou Boosting Ships on Product Imports

Hurricane Sandy may boost demand for tankers hauling refined fuels if imports have to replace output from New Jersey and Pennsylvania refineries that could be disrupted by the storm, according to RS Platou Markets AS.

Sandy may combine with a second storm coming out of the Midwest to create a system that would rival the New England Hurricane of 1938 in intensity, said Paul Kocin, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland. The hurricane currently passing the Bahamas has killed 21 people across the Caribbean, the Associated Press reported, citing local officials.

“If it hits New Jersey and Pennsylvania refineries may reduce or shut down production, meaning more imports should support product-tanker demand,” Herman Hildan, an analyst at Platou in Oslo, said by phone today. “It would be just a temporary thing.”

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