Arabian Gulf tanker rates decline on surplus vessels for hire

The cost of shipping Middle East crude oil to Asia, the world’s busiest route for supertankers, declined on a surplus of vessels for hire. Charter rates for very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, on the industry’s benchmark Saudi Arabia to Japan voyage declined 0.3 percent to 49.69 Worldscale points, according to the London based Baltic Exchange. Daily earnings from the journey retreated 5.5 percent to $14,927 a day. That’s less than half the $31,300 that Frontline Ltd, the largest operator of the ships, needs to break even on them once finance repayments are taken into account.
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Source: ArabianBusiness.com