Even if oil demand crumbles, product tanker owners believe the sector is viable.

Speaking at Capital Link's New York Maritime Forum — held online due to the pandemic — owners said there was a long tail for product tankers, even if the world has passed peak oil, as BP suggested last month.

"I don't think we're going to suddenly get away from the combustion engine or using plastics," said Scorpio Tankers president Robert Bugbee, whose company owns the largest product tanker fleet.