Frontline: tanker on fire, but shares surge

BW LPG

13/06/2019 10:36

** Shares of Norwegian shipping firm Frontline  FRO.OL  up
8% after the company's tanker caught fire in the Gulf of Oman,
triggering speculation that tanker rates might rise in the
region  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N23K2EJ
    ** Pareto Securities' analyst Eirik Haavaldsen says the
stock move reflects how markets tend to react to such events
    ** "If we now see more instability and unrest in the Middle
East, it can have a very good effect on tanker rates provided
that of course there is no full shut down on the region but that
seems very unlikely", he says
    ** A Frontline spokesman confirmed the tanker was on fire,
while the ship's operator said the cause was yet unknown. 
Earlier on Thursday shipping newspaper Tradewinds said the
tanker has been struck by a torpedo  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N23K1AN 
    ** Haavaldsen says the vessel itself is a small part of
Frontline's fleet and is fully insured, so investors have little
reason to be concerned.
    ** Shares of Nordic peers Avance Gas Holding Ltd 
 AVANCE.OL  and BW LPG Ltd  BWLPG.OL  up 8% and 7%, respectively

 ((izabela.niemiec@thomsonreuters.com))