Tanker owners have benefited from share price rises and VLCC rate improvements since the Opec+ group announced a modest production rise for January.
But problems of vessel oversupply and unwinding of storage contracts remain.
The Opec+ producers will pump out an extra 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude next year, the group said on Thursday.
The news caused VLCC spot rates to jump to $20,000 per day on average, the highest level since mid-September.
