2021 is not off to a great start. Usually, the winter months are good for tanker rates, but not this year. A review of the daily market rates shows low Worldscale (WS) assessments, which lead to very low TCE (time charter equivalent) earnings. Some earnings, particularly in the crude oil segment, are even dipping into negative territory. VLCCs, Suezmaxes and Aframaxes all show negative TCE’s on one or more of the benchmark routes. Why does this happen and how long can it last? In this Tanker Opinion the authors take a look at some of the factors that can (temporarily) […]