Reuters: Libya, Syria Troubles Add to Crude Tanker Rate Rout

“The slow pace of resumption of Libyan crude exports and a European Union oil embargo on Syria are reducing prospects for a ship rate recovery this year in the smaller Mediterranean tanker market, analysts and brokers say. . . . ‘The lost (Libyan) production equated to about two aframax cargoes per day, exacerbating an already slackened balance of tanker supply and demand and further eroding freight rates,’ brokerage Poten & Partners said.”