Middle East Tanker Surplus Widens a Second Week, Weighing on Charter Rates

A surplus of supertankers competing to load 2 million-barrel cargoes of Middle East crude oil expanded for a second week, weighing on vessel owners’ efforts to raise charter rates.
There are 18 percent more very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, for hire over the next 30 days than there are cargoes, according to the median estimate of seven shipbrokers and owners surveyed by Bloomberg News today. A week ago the excess was 15 percent.
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Source: Bloomberg