Lloyd’s List: NYK Group Rumored to be Selling Another VLCC in Secondhand Market

“In its weekly comment piece, US-based brokers Poten & Partners said that although the fourth quarter is sometimes thought to be a lucrative time in the year for tanker owners as completion of annual refinery maintenance, seasonal requirements for oil and reduced daylight hours historically increase vessel demand, fundamentals are strained, which is dampening upside potential. For the VLCC market in particular, it notes a record high of ships in the Middle East spot market available for loading in a following 30-day period, as newbuilding vessels continue to be delivered from Asian shipyards and few vessels are removed from trading for demolition. Having averaged about 40 vessels between 2001-2004, the number of available vessels in the Middle East has increased to almost 90 ships since January 2009, representing a 115% increase. ‘This year, average availabilities reached a record high of 111 ships over the month of September,’ Poten said.”