Braemar Market insight; Tanker fleet supply

Despite record crude oil liftings from the Middle East and anticipated demand growth of around 2% for 2011, there remains a persistent oversupply of VLCC tonnage, according to analysis by Braemar Shipping Services.However, it may come as some

relief to know that the 47 VLCC deliveries scheduled for the first half of 2011 did not all enter the market on time.
In both Q1 and Q2 this year, over 20 VLCC deliveries were inked in at the rate of more than one
every week. In the event, Braemar recorded fewer than 20 VLCC deliveries in both quarters of 2011 to date: 19 in Q1 and 15 in Q2.
On 1st July, the VLCC fleet was 559 ships including 22 non-double hull units, with 150 ships in the orderbook.
In deadweight capacity, the VLCC fleet has grown by 5.6% this year, from 160.9m dwt on 1st January 2011, to 169.9m dwt on 1st July. According to Braemar, it seems likely that further slippage from delivery schedules will happen in the coming quarters, even from its revised delivery view as per the table.
Source: Braemar Shipping Services