Asia VLCC Rates Could Could Climb Even More
Owners see rates climb by nearly $22,000 per day; Rates could peak as more tonnage comes free. Rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) on key Asian routes could nudge higher amid a flurry of new cargoes and tighter tonnage supply that propelled rates to their highest in nine months, brokers said. Freight rates from the Middle East to Japan gained more than 13 points on the Worldscale measure in the past week, equivalent to an increase in earnings of almost $22,000 per day, according to Reuters freight data. Brokers said tonnage is tight for cargoes to be fixed in mid-December which could push rates higher although there are more VLCCs available later in the month which could cap the potential for a further surge in rates.
Asia VLCC Rates Could Nudge Higher on Activity
Rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) on key Asian freight routes could hold steady or gain next week as charterers seek to complete their vessel chartering programme for the first 20 days of August, brokers said on Friday. The pause would come after charter rates from the Middle East to Asia jumped this week to their highest levels since February 27 after falling on Monday as owners resisted charterers' attempts to push prices lower, brokers said. "It's been quite busy this week," fuelled by charterers rushing to charter ships before next week's Eid holiday, said Kevin Sy, freight derivatives broker at Singapore's Marex Spectron. "I expect them to stay around the current level and might even move up a bit," Sy said on Friday, although he questioned if the gains are sustainable.
Tankship Charter Slump Likely in July 2012
A fall in tankship bookings by China due to stockpiling & slowdown in its economic growth sets scene for probable 10% slump According to Bloomberg, the largest oil-tankers booked to haul 2 million-barrel cargoes of crude from ports in the Persian Gulf are poised to slump to a 17-month low as a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy curbs oil demand. Charters of very large crude carriers to ship Middle East crude will probably fall by 10 percent from June to 115 shipments this month, the lowest tally since February 2011, Kevin Sy, a Singapore-based freight-derivatives broker at Marex Spectron Group, informed Bloomberg's reporter, Bob Sheridan. Source: Bloomberg
