Supertanker freight rates are on the rise for a second time this month as producers, refiners and traders scramble to secure ships to transport crude or store a fast-growing global glut of oil, industry sources said.
Freight rates for very large crude-oil carriers (VLCC) along the Middle East Gulf to China route were assessed at about $180,000 a day on Monday, up from some $125,000 on Friday and a weekly low of about $90,000 a day on Wednesday, according to several ship broking sources.
“Its difficult to say whether or not the rates will be sustained, or at what levels, but generally looking at Saudi’s export plans for the coming months at more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd) – as well as the demand for floating storage – then you can expect freight rates to remain strong,” said Anoop Singh, head of tanker research in Asia at Braemar ACM Shipbroking.
