Oil tankers divert away from strike-ridden French ports

More oil tankers have diverted away from France as strikes disrupt the country’s petroleum industry.

Crude oil carriers Primero and Elisabeth Maersk had both been anchored off Le Havre until Wednesday, before changing their destination to Rotterdam, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s on top of several refined fuel carriers that moved away from the French port recently to go elsewhere.

The effects of French strikes to protest against pension reform are rippling across global oil markets. The nation is estimated to see a hit of about 500,000 barrels a day to the amount of crude that gets turned into fuels in March. France released strategic stockpiles of oil products this month to avoid fuel shortages as the strikes blocked fuel movements from many local refineries.

The Primero and Elisabeth Maersk are laden with crude oil from Norway and Nigeria, respectively, according to Vortexa Ltd. data. 

In addition, some other vessels hauling diesel and jet fuel to French ports have also switched their destinations lately. The Clearocean Apollon, hauling refined fuels from the Middle East to Fos in the south of France, was also diverted to Rotterdam earlier this week.