Oil tanker owners are celebrating one of the industry's most notable turnrounds after charter rates for some vessel classes multiplied around seven times in the space of a few weeks. Owners of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), capable of carrying 2m barrels of oil, have been chartering their vessels for as much as $150,000 a day in the past two weeks, against only just over $20,000 in early November. The spike results mainly from industry fears about the effect on tankers of the strong market for shipping dry bulk cargo, where owners can earn up to $180,000 a day chartering out the largest, Capesize, ships. Owners of single-hull tankers - due to be phased out for environmental reasons by 2010 - are increasingly converting them into bulk carriers, reducing the supply of tankers.