Office Address
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
Phone Number
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
Email Address
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
The year 2026 – the Year of the Fire Horse – marks the 60th anniversary
since the launch of the Idemitsu Maru, the world’s first VLCC, and supertankers
are in massive celebration mode with spot rates comfortably in excess of
$200,000 a day and rumours abounding of a one-year deal done at a stunning
$135,000 a day.
Three reasons stand out for the current boom times for VLCCs. First,
Sinokor’s unprecedented fleet build-up, hoovering up VLCC tonnage over the past
three months to become the market leader; charterers rushing to lock in ever
less available tonnage; and ongoing tension in the Middle East. “Sinokor’s aggressive fleet expansion
has tightened available vessels supply and strengthened owners’ pricing power,”
HSBC stated in a recent shipping report.
“The MEG dominates the
demand, and the front end of the position list is shrinking by the hour,
leaving charterers with few other alternatives to choose from but the South
Korean giant,” broker Fearnleys noted in its latest weekly report, adding:
“West Africa and not least Brazil is also offering owners a profitable option,
and paradoxically Brazilian freight now top USG exports as WTI crude struggle
to compete in the East.” Reports emerged in the last 24 hours of a Zodiac
Maritime VLCC, Red Nova, being fixed for a record out of Brazil, at $214,000 a
day on a voyage to South Korea.
Saudi Arabia’s Bahri has been notably aggressive on
the chartering front this week, taking at least five VLCCs for March shipments
to Asia at rates in excess of $200,000 a day.
Analysts at sister title Splash Extra reported yesterday that this has
been the best February on record for VLCCs. “Owners are ever more convinced
that this time the supercycle is real,” the report stated.
In the current frenzied tanker market, Scandinavian bank SEB reported
rumours today of what it described as an “extreme” time charter deal with with
Trafigura said to be chartering in a VLCC on one-year deal at $135,000, up from
last done at $110,000 a day.
Delivering Q4 results today, Alexander Saverys, CEO of tanker giant
CMB.TECH, said: “Tanker markets continue to defy gravity due to a mix of
shifting trade patterns, modest newbuilding deliveries and a particularly
active tanker owner/operator who is adding fuel to the fire.
