Hellenic Shipping News: VLCC Rates’ Outlook Flat, As Smaller Tankers Expected To Keep On Suffering

11 July 2016: “Meanwhile, in a recent note, shipbroker Poten & Partners commented on the leading charterers of the tanker market, after the cross of the mid-year mark. According to Poten’s data, no major changes can be spotted, as the top seven charterers are exactly the same as last year. ‘Unipec is still on top and even expanded its lead slightly (from 13.4% of the total in 2015 to 13.8% in 2016 YTD). Not surprisingly, the leading charterers hail from China (Unipec, Petrochina), India (IOC, Reliance), complemented by the super-majors and the leading traders. As a reminder, these rankings are all based on reported spot fixtures. In the VLCC segment, Unipec continues to be the dominant spot charterer with 258 reported fixtures, equivalent to the volume of the next five largest combined! Bahri remains a significant player in the VLCC market and its listing as No. 4 in the ranking of reported spot market fixtures is not a correct reflection of their real influence in the large vessel segment’, Poten said. “Similarly, ‘in the Suezmax segment the traditional oil majors still rule, with all the majors that are remaining of the original ‘Seven Sisters’ (Chevron, Shell, BP and ExxonMobil) represented in the top 10. Chevron continues to lead the pack, followed by Repsol (2nd) and Unipec (3rd). International oil traders are the best represented in the Aframax segment. Vitol maintains the lead, while 2nd placed ST Shipping has moved up the ranks (up from 5th in 2015). Trafigura also improved their position relative to last year (from 9th to 6th). These rankings serve as a reminder for tanker owners that, despite all the changes in the world’s economic and political landscape, changes in the oil market take time and long-term trends remain in place. No surprises here’, Poten concluded in its weekly report.”