The supply of oil tankers seeking 2 million-barrel cargoes of crude from Middle East ports expanded in the past week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of shipbrokers and owners.
The surplus of very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, competing for cargoes over the next month rose 1 percentage point to 15 percent, according to a survey of five brokers and one owner today and another on July 12.
VLCC earnings on the Saudi Arabia-to-Japan route that’s used to settle freight derivatives fell 24 percent yesterday to $2,631 a day, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. That’s less than a 10th of the $29,700 that Frontline Ltd., the largest operator of the ships, said May 25 it needs to break even on the vessels.
Costs to charter tankers as measured in industry standard Worldscale terms gained 0.1 percent to 49.88 points, according to the exchange.
Source: Alaric Nightingale, Bloomberg
