VLCCs kept up their momentum on Monday as they started to shirk the typical summer downturn.
Rates for the largest tankers hit $34,200 per day to start the week, according to Clarksons’ fleet weighted average for the sector, a nearly 26% jump from last week and a 5% jump from Friday when the assessment finished at $32,500 per day.
Analyst at the shipbroker’s banking arm Frode Morkedal said the sector — and others — had found their bottom.
“For VLCCs, the seasonal drivers are largely tied to refinery planning,“ he said.
“With fall maintenance typically concluding in October, crude barrels expected in November need to be loaded by early October.
“Since freight is generally booked 2 to 3 weeks before loading, this explains the usual increase in chartering activity during September.”
The broker’s figures show US Gulf to China and West Africa to China routes both earning $35,500 per day for an eco-designed vessel, with ships heading east from the Middle East trailing their Atlantic basin counterparts at $29,700 per day.
According to data from Tankers International, fixtures made early last week for September loading saw poor returns for owners, with a handful earning under $10,000 per day, including just $3,934 per day for the Embiricos-linked 318,000-dwt Kalamos (built 2010) on Tuesday.
But on Thursday, things started to pick up with ships set to load in October fetching higher rates.
Top among them was Dynacom’s 300,000-dwt Alexandros (built 2022), earning $45,754 per day for a voyage from West Africa to China for Unipec.
Friday saw rates moderate slightly, with Oman Ship Management’s 300,000-dwt Sur (built 2020) fixed to CSSA for $32,542 per day to sail from Brazil to China.
Elsewhere, Clarksons flagged LR1 and LR2 product tankers as seeing improvements for similar reasons.
It assessed the LR2 fleet weighted average at $28,200 per day on Monday, a 6.9% improvement week-over-week, while LR1s jumped nearly 14% from last week to $23,000 per day.
