A wave of labour strife in France is filtering into the shipping industry by threatening to shutter refineries, closing ports and cancelling ferry transits.
Among impacts for the tanker sector, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) is poised to vote tomorrow on whether to close refineries around the country, according to media reports.
MJLF analyst Court Smith said Thursday that the strike could lead to a drop in the amount of distillates in storage, which would be bullish for medium-range (MR) products tankers.
"If the strike occurs, it will be good news for clean tankers positioned in the US Gulf," he said in a note to the Connecticut tanker broker's clients.
