Sinokor has grabbed another VLCC as its period chartering spree continues.
The South Korean shipowner has struck a deal with George Economou’s TMS Tankers for the 300,000-dwt Gustavia S (built 2020).
It has fixed the tanker on a three-year deal at $54,000 per day, according to brokers.
The charter is slightly ahead of Clarksons $52,500 per day estimate for a scrubber-fitted, eco-designed VLCC.
It is also the fourth VLCC charter inked by Sinokor in the past few weeks, as fixing activity has picked up in the sector that has been slow since last year.
Brokers have reported the company taking on VS Tankers’ 320,596-dwt Dijilah (built 2019) at $53,500 per day, Advantage Tankers’ 299,998-dwt Advantage Verity (built 2016) at $53,500 per day and the Ensel-linked 319,191-dwt Papalemos (built 2018) at $55,000 per day.
The Dijilah and the Advantage Verity were both on three-year deals. The Papalemos was a one-year agreement.
Neither TMS Tankers nor Sinokor returned a request for comment on this deal or other recent deals.
But if the broker reports are correct, it would be the 13th VLCC fixture this year, eclipsing last year’s 12 fixtures, according to data from Clarksons.
In 2021, there were 23 VLCC period deals and in 2022 there were 22, the broker said.
VLCC rates have dipped in recent months, but have been described as resilient when the annual summer downturn is taken into account.
Clarksons’ $54,000 per day assessment for a scrubber-fitted, eco-designed vessel on a one-year deal is slightly behind the 2024 year-to-date average of $57,199 per day.
The $52,500 per day three-year assessment for the same shiptype, meanwhile, is a touch higher than the $52,228 per day year-to-date average and above 2020’s $47,221 per day average.
Meanwhile, spot rates have struggled much more, with the Middle East to China route slipping to $25,256 per day last week, according to Clarksons, well off the $36,010 per day 2024 average and the $41,541 per day 2023 average.
The weakest route last week was the $16,787 per day Middle East to Europe route, which so far this year has averaged $29,142 per day.
