2007

As last week’s article hit the newsstands, the tanker market was already on the move. Only a few hours earlier, the singe-hulled Hebei Spirit collided with a barge off the Korean coast, spilling approximately 10-12,000mt of crude oil into the sea. The astute FFA traders in our midst recognized that Owners of double-hulled tonnage would be able to raise their rates significantly – and started buying. Even without an allout ban on single hulls, incremental measures taken by regional maritime authorities – or commercial chartering departments, could have an effect on the commercial viability of the single skin species. Crude tanker FFAs have been on the rise since that time with only minimal interruption, for both near and long dated contracts. The physical spot market behaved in like fashion, with Owners quickly boosting spot rates. VLCCs are currently earning up to $200,000/day – putting the tanker market back into the spot light.

This is only an excerpt of Back to the Futures – 12/13/2007

Content is restricted to subscribers. To continue reading please Log-In or view our subscription options.