I have reviewed all the 17 car carriers that are presently en route to Suez from the Far East to see whether I have missed a shipment.
Unless Tesla are shipping Q2 manufactured models (which they have done this quarter to Australia and Singapore) then I am reasonably happy we don't have a shipment on the way at the moment.
There is an outside chance that GLOVIS SUPERIOR may have a shipment on board but it'll be quite a small one if it has, since she only spent 12 hours alongside in Shanghai. This is a big ship and would take much longer to load fully. I don't think it's heading to the UK and so if it is a Tesla ship it's probably heading for Zeebrugge.
HOEGH OSLO is currently loading in Shanghai and has been tipped as a Tesla chartered ship. She is due to arrive in Zeebrugge on 14 Aug.
This surprised me for two reasons, firstly its size and secondly its route.
This is a shorter ship than a standard Panamax sized vessel so that means less cars can be loaded which makes the costs per car that much higher. Tesla have however used this ship twice before, the first being back in Q3 2019 when it inaugurated the 'quarter-end east coast bonus' shipment from Philly. Since all those cars were transported across America by road transporters to Philly I very much doubt more than 1500 cars were onboard.
The second occasion was in Feb 2020 when she was used for a run from Pier 80 to Shanghai. She spent less than 24 hours alongside Pier 80 which would be an indication of a partial load, even for this ship.
The ship is scheduled to stop in Misurata, Libya. I can't see this being on Tesla business. The date of arrival there has been updated to reflect the later than originally planned departure from Shanghai and so it looks as if the stop is still planned. Additionally the ship is scheduled to stop in Zeebrugge for less than 24 hrs - not long enough to unload the quantity of cars Tesla normally ship.
I therefore remain a little doubtful about HOEGH OSLO being a Tesla charter. If she has Teslas onboard it will be a small consignment.
So I'm still looking for suspects and I can't account for the planned French deliveries in early August.
HELIOS RAY is heading back to Shanghai and I'm still keeping an eye on GLOVIS SYMPHONY as I am hoping she will return too.