VLCC freight rates settled down to around USD 45,000 per day in the second half of May but continue at sustainable levels that have been the norm in that market
A joint project from BIMCO and the Association of Ship Brokers & Agents (U.S.A.), Inc. (ASBA) to develop a standard gas tanker voyage charter party took a big leap forward at a subcommittee meeting on 5-6 September. The aim of the project is to develop a standard form dedicated to the chartering of tankers for LPG, anhydrous ammonia and chemical gases based on the widely used tanker charter party, ASBATANKVOY.
The demand situation in tanker shipping is anything but formidable. We see a mixed picture from one trading area to the next and from crude oil to products.
Earnings for both crude oil and oil product tankers continues to go from strength to strength. Overall, the lower crude oil prices are supporting refinery margins. This accelerates crude oil throughput and increases demand for transportation of feedstock to the refineries as well as transportation of the refined oil products thereafter.
Has the lid finally come off for crude oil tanker demolition in 2021? If judged by the 1.9m DWT of capacity that was removed in September, the answer is “yes”.
In the first two months of 2024, crude tanker newbuild contracting surged to 7.4 m DWT, a 490% leap y/y, due to a rise in orders for very large crude carriers – VLCCs. A notable 19 VLCCs were ordered, already surpassing the number of orders for this ship type during all of 2023.
Whether the phase out of single hull and non-double hulled tankers becomes massive in 2010 or at the latest stage in 2015 does not really matter to the market.
What a difference a year makes! At the end of 2021, container ships were enjoying a historically strong market and freight and time charter rates had yet to peak. At the same time, dry bulk ships were seeing multi-year high rates slipping away, although still enjoying better returns than in previous years. However, tanker ships were seemingly still stuck in a COVID market rut without any immediate hopes for a strong comeback.
A Winter season that turned the market upside down is soon coming to an end. All eyes were on product tankers, thinking “would this be the beginning of something beautiful in terms of higher earnings?” No one really paid much attention to what was already in the making in the crude oil tanker sector.