Oil market players are willing to take tankers on time charter, but DHT Holdings says the terms are not there to justify fixtures.
Chartering director Stephen Eglin said the New York-listed VLCC specialist has received “good, solid interest” from traders and operators, but the offers do not match DHT’s criteria.
“The ideas from such players in the market are priced at spot in the short term and quite below the expectations of the long term,” he said during a crude tanker webinar hosted by Fearnleys on Tuesday.
“For us, we’re waiting for the big oil companies to gain interest and most likely come in for longer periods.”
He added that VLCCs are earning in the mid-$50,000 per day region for a one-year time charter and mid-$40,000s per day for a five-year deal.
Eglin and chief executive Svein Moxnes Harfjeld expect a more favourable market in the second half of the year, when DHT is projecting that Opec will increase production, lifting the VLCC market and creating the conditions for richer time charters.
Harfjeld said oil companies have expressed concern about the ageing global tanker fleet, which is only going to grow older in the coming years with an orderbook near historic lows.
“We have a sense that they’re all thinking about how to deal with this and how to stimulate access to ships. The only way really is to offer long-term employment,” he said.
But if the company can build a long-term charter backlog, it would take the opportunity, Harfjeld said, although he would not commit to a ratio of ships on time charter to spot.
Five of the company’s 24 scrubber-fitted VLCCs are on time charter, with one coming open at the end of the year, two in 2026 and two in 2027.
It also has four ships under construction.
In its weekly report last week, Clarksons said a scrubber-fitted VLCC on a one-year time charter would earn $54,500 per day. A scrubber-fitted, eco-designed VLCC — of which DHT has 17 — would earn $58,750 per day over the same period.
In the spot market, Clarksons’ fleet weighted average for scrubber-fitted VLCCs was $43,800 per day.
