A stronger than expected winter for the crude tanker market has fuelled Braemar ACM’s optimism for freight rates in the longer-term.

While the present buoyant rates are expected to calm for a period in the first half of next year, the brokerage has boosted its rate forecasts for 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Braemar’s Anoop Singh said: “ We had been optimistic for a dirty tanker market recovery to start by the fourth quarter of the year premised on an end to the destocking cycles and an end to Opec’s production cuts.