The
Drewry Tanker Earnings Index recovered in the last month of 2012 to finish above
the two-year average. However, earnings are still far from comfortable for
owners.
“Spot
chartering activity remained weak during a month shortened by holidays,
although the pre-holiday rush for tonnage pushed freight rates slightly higher,”
Drewry said.
Demand
for suezmax tankers was said to have plunged 26% in December, while Arabian
Gulf loadings for VLCC and aframaxes declined 37% and 45% respectively.
Activity
in the panamax market reportedly remained lacklustre with a 27% decline in
fixtures, blamed on weak demand from western markets in the shorter trading
month.
Despite
this, Drewry says the decline in activity was met with increases in rates and
earnings across the different vessel segments.
“VLCC
owners got some respite as a pre-holiday rush in chartering resulted in
improved earnings, despite a moderate rise in bunker prices,” it said.
“Firm
Asian demand and a rush to fix cargoes before the holidays helped to push rates
higher on the benchmark AG-Far East route by seven points to WS48.”
Drewry
said earnings on this route nearly quadrupled to $15,500pd from the $4,000pd achieved
during the previous month.
“Suezmax
rates on the West Africa-US Gulf route increased by 16% to WS65 as demand
improved with the suspension of force majeure on exports of Nigerian crude.”
Despite
weak activity in the Mediterranean, earnings for suezmaxes doing intra-Med
voyages were $5,200pd in December versus $4,300pd in November.
The
introduction of ice-class requirements in the Baltic for aframax carriers
pushed rates on the Baltic-UK/Cont route higher by 26% to WS77 or $7,500pd.
Similarly,
aframax earnings on intra-Northwest Europe routes tripled to $11,800pd from
only $3,400pd in November.
However,
aframax rates remained soft in the Caribbean, under pressure from both sides of
the supply-demand equation.
Earnings
on the Caribs-US Gulf route declined to negative $4,800pd in December from
positive $2,900pd in the previous month.
Panamax
rates from Northwest Europe to the Caribbean and US improved on tight
availability of tonnage with earnings climbing 8% to $18,700pd.
Similarly,
voyages on the Caribs-US Gulf route fetched $15,200pd in December against the $7,500pd
seen in November.
