Empty Tanker Lands Onshore, No Signs Of Crew

The shipping community has been in tatters as of late. Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) rates have fallen more than 10 percent year-over-year, according to a May 9 report from Credit Suisse. Rates for Suezmax and Aframax vessels have fallen roughly 30 percent year-over-year. The only stand out was LNG, where day rates rose 7 percent year-over-year.

Rates have pressured shippers so much that now it appears ships are being abandoned at sea. According to GCaptain, the Tamaya 1 was discovered off the coast of Liberia last week. The ship, flagged from Panama according to MarineTraffic is 63.91 meters long, and was last positioned off the coast of West Africa on April 22.

The last location of Tamaya 1 is well North of the pirate-focused areas off the southern coast of Africa, leaving the door open to speculation about what happened.

Source: The Economist

Liberia's government is taking heat from locals for failing to notice the ships on the nation's shore for at least a couple days.

Speculation of what happened ranges from the low-probability of a Pirate attack to a possible fire attributed to unconfirmed reports of evidence of a fire in the ship's cabin.

The Guggenheim Shipping ETF (NYSE:SEA) closed Monday's session at $11.64, down roughly 7 percent year-to-date.