From Bloomberg via gCaptain:
Oil Tanker Market Heads for Worst Year Since ’13 on OPEC Cut
Oil-hauling supertankers are bracing for the worst earnings year since 2013 as they become collateral damage in OPEC’s quest to trim a global glut of crude.
So-called very large crude carriers, 1,200-foot vessels each hauling 2 million barrels, will earn an average of $25,000 a day next year, according to the median of eight shipping analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That’s 12 percent lower than they were anticipating before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries took a decision on Nov. 30 to cut collective output by enough to fill four ships a week.
“This can lead us back to the market in 2013,” said Frode Morkedal, an analyst at Clarksons Platou Securities, the investment banking unit of the world’s largest ship broker. If OPEC carries out its planned cuts of 1.2 million barrels a day, “rates will crash because it will lead to higher oil prices, lower demand and less trade.”
The tanker market’s worsening prospects are just one of the knock-on effects after OPEC’s agreement, which is supposed to start in January and last for an initial six months. The accord caused a surge in oil prices, making life more expensive for anyone who buys or transports fuel — including American motorists, Indian refiners, airlines and shippers. It’s also likely to give a boost to U.S. shale-region producers and to deter some traders from storing oil at sea....MORE
