The market continues to struggle, and Drewry's latest Tanker Insight report saw the Drewry Tanker Earnings Index suffer a further decline in February. Weak demand hammered freight rates on major routes, especially for the larger vessel segments. The impact of weak rates was amplified by high bunker prices, which, for some operators, again translated into negative earnings. Drewry’s Earnings Index for dirty tankers plunged by 66% to 14.2 during the month. This pulled the wider Tanker Earnings Index down by 52%. Weakness in eastern demand due to the Chinese New Year holidays kept chartering activity in the Arabian Gulf relatively quiet. Similarly, despite increased demand from the Caribbean, activity in West Africa declined.
