Some oil firms have reportedly fixed tankers on short time charters amid heightened market uncertainty despite the latest Opec+ agreement.
Most owners and charterers remain unwilling to commit to long-term deals, with a cloudy market outlook during renewed Covid-19 outbreaks in many parts of the world.
Brokers said Trafigura picked up the non-scrubber-fitted, 115,000-dwt Aigeorigis (built 2021) from Chartworld Shipping for 40 to 100 days at a “low-teens” level.
The vessel is one of the aframaxes that Lou Kollakis-led Chartworld ordered from New Times Shipbuilding in 2019.
In an earlier deal, Reliance Industries was said to have chartered the 105,000-dwt Maran Atlas (built 2009) from Maran Tankers Management for six months at $13,500 per day. The aframax is also scrubber-free.
The depressed rate level in the period market has come as spot tanker earnings struggle to stay above operating expenses for most shipowners.
While Opec+ agreed to a further hike in crude production from August, most analysts expect market conditions to stay weak in the coming months.
Ioannis Papadimitriou, freight analyst at data firm Vortexa, warned that rising crude exports from the Middle East might squeeze out Atlantic producers if oil demand fails to improve significantly.
Papadimitriou added that vessel supply overhang is also likely to persist as shipowners refrain from ship recycling their vintage assets in droves.
“This has mostly to do with the fact that secondhand tanker prices are steaming hot, on the back of owners' speculation for a prospective rebound of the tanker market, but also because older tonnage is still attractive to perform shadow voyages from sanctioned countries at premium rates,” he said.
“This ‘wait and see’ approach … is a key obstacle to any upside for freight rates in a market that is still far off pre-Covid demand levels.”
As for the product side, Glencore unit ST Shipping & Transport reportedly chartered the 116,000-dwt LR2 Fos Da Vinci (built 2009) from Marla Tankers.
The non-scrubber-fitted ship was fixed for three months at $10,000 per day, although the shipowner said said the charter details are incorrect.
Brokers said Koch Industries secured the 50,200-dwt Yasa Vega and Yasa Onion (both built 2021) from Yasa Shipping for three months at $12,000 per day.
The charters for the scrubber-fitted tonnage can be extended by another four months at $15,500 per day.
“The clean time-charter outlook continues to look weak as it has for some time,” Braemar ACM Shipbroking said, adding that the demand outlook for refined products has turned bearish due to renewed outbreaks of Covid-19.
Maran, Reliance, Trafigura and Glencore declined to comment on the fixtures, while TradeWinds has approached Chartworld, Koch and Yasa for comment.
