Big-name owners have secured a series of short-term VLCC charters to protect against a rapid falling-off of spot rates.
Two- and three-month deals have been fixed at $65,000 per day, while the Baltic Exchange assessed the Middle East Gulf to South Korea spot route at $18,600 per day on Friday, down 39% in a week and 65% in a month.
China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) is reported to have chartered out its 307,500-dwt New Splendor (built 2023) at the $65,000 rate.
The Angelicoussis group’s 321,000-dwt Antonis I Angelicoussis (built 2023) has also been tied up for three months, brokers said, but no rate was reported
Greece’s Alberta Shipmanagement 302,000-dwt Helios (built 2022) was fixed for two months at $65,000.
The charterers are not yet known.
One broker working modern tonnage told TradeWinds that owners are putting longer-term deals on hold as they are not willing to accept the current rate corrections.
“The VLCC market has taken a huge tumble,” he added. “I suspect after China New Year things will pick up again.”
And the broker called the two- and three-month deals “a smart move from the owners’ side,” given the state of the market.
At the start of November, six-month VLCC deals were fixed between $58,000 and $63,000, while the 319,000-dwt Maria P Lemos (built 2018) was booked for four months at a whopping $95,521 to ExxonMobil.
MR deals done
Rates have also been falling for MR product tankers, with Atlantic basin spot numbers dropping 69% in a month to $20,600 per day.
But Formosa Plastics’ 50,000-dwt FPMC 34 (built 2019) has secured a deal for three months at $49,000 per day from an undisclosed charterer.
In November a 2004-built Seven Islands Shipping vessel only secured $32,000 for a charter of the same length.
Meanwhile, the 50,000-dwt Nord Miyabi (built 2022) has been taken for three years at $27,300 per day by Asyad Shipping, the former Oman Shipping Co, from Shoei Kisen of Japan.
At the end of December, Asyad paid $28,000 over two years for a Seaworld Management vessel built in 2010.
Brokers also reported two clean tankers fixed out for a year each.
The 17,100-dwt Chem Lyra (built 2009) was chartered at $24,500 per day to Italy’s Eni. The ship is operated by Ace Tankers.
And the 16,000-dwt Duzgit Endeavour (built 2013) managed $24,000 per day for DSM Denizcilik of Turkey. The charterer was not reported.
