Charter activity for suezmax tankers has picked up in the period market this month, with scrubber-fitted eco tonnage in hot demand amid a weak rate environment.
Brokers reported Sinopec subsidiary Unipec as having fixed the 159,000-dwt Zeus (built 2021) from Samos Steamship of Greece for 12 months at $21,000 per day.
The ship was delivered from Japan Marine United in April.
Shell was said to have fixed the 157,000-dwt Advantage Start (built 2011) from India’s Great Eastern Shipping for 18 to 22 months at $22,500 per day.
Brokers said Chevron had taken the 158,000-dwt Kapodistrias 21 (built 2021) from NS Lemos for three years at $27,000 per day in an earlier deal.
Koch Industries was said to have relet the 158,000-dwt Zeynep and AYSE C (both built 2020) to LMCS Maritime for 18 months or more at $26,500 per day. But there was talk that the fixtures may be misreported.
All vessels in the reported deals are fitted with scrubbers.
Chevron declined to comment on the Kapodistrias 21 charter. TradeWinds has approached Sinopec, Samos, Koch, LMCS, Shell, Great Eastern Shipping and NS Lemos for comments.
“There is a lot more suezmax time charter action recently. There is some confidence that the market will improve by the first quarter of 2022,” a London-based broker said.
Period rates for suezmax tankers have been pegged to their multi-year low in recent months, offering bargain hunters some opportunities to secure quality tonnage at low rates.
Clarksons Research estimates the prevailing one-year rate for a scrubber-fitted eco suezmax at $22,500 per day and the three-year rate at $26,500 per day.
“The dirty spot market remains very weak, which is reflecting onto the period market,” Braemar ACM Shipbroking said in a note.
Spot tanker earnings have struggled to stay above operating expenses for most owners in recent quarters, plagued by persistent tonnage oversupply amid limited scrapping.
But some analysts expect suezmax and aframax tankers to enjoy better earnings prospects than VLCCs in the coming months.
Oil consumption is widely expected to grow significantly in Europe and the US amid mass vaccination programmes, prompting more short and mid-haul crude shipments to the regions.
In its latest monthly report, the International Energy Agency has forecast oil demand in OECD Europe will grow to 13.5m barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter from 12.6m bpd in the second.
US oil consumption is expected to rise to 20.2m bpd from 19.8m bpd in the same period.
