Bloomberg: LNG Goes Extra 9,800 Miles as Europe Spurs Record Rates

The biggest collapse in European demand for liquefied natural gas in at least 12 years and record Asian imports are sending fuel cargoes an extra 9,800 miles around the globe and boosting tanker rates to the highest ever.

European consumption will drop 20 percent in 2012 as Asian usage jumps 11 percent, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. That’s spurring traders to ship LNG imported into Europe from as far away as Qatar back on the same route and then on to Japan. Vessel rates will rise 54 percent this year, the median of six analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg shows.   MORE