Ship & Bunker: First Dry Bulk, Then Box Carriers – Now Poten & Partners Warns of Looming Tanker Market Woes

13 December 2016: “With dry bulk in a state of fragile recovery from its historic lows earlier this year and then the troubled container ship markets rocked by the collapse of South Korean giant Hanjin, credit managers have already had a busy year, but Poten & Partners Inc (Poten & Partners) now warns of upcoming woes in the tanker markets. Writing in its latest Poten Tanker Opinion, the consultancy says that for 2017, the sector faces an all too familiar story of too many ships to meet demand. ‘The orderbook for delivery in 2017, particularly for crude oil tankers, is high and the prospects for oil demand growth have been muted, explains Poten & Partner”   “‘China has continued to provide significant support to the tanker trades in 2016. Despite this, the tanker market has been under pressure for most of this year,’ said Poten & Partners.”   “Market consensus forecasts China’s import demand growth to see levels of 4-5 percent in 2017, less than half of the double-digit growth rate seen in 2016, according to Poten & Partners’ data.”   “‘In the oil and tanker market, anything can happen, but it appears prudent for the owners of large tankers to batten down the hatches, just in case,’ concluded the Poten & Partners report” To read full article, click here.