Fresh cuts from Opec in Vienna this week will not ruin the VLCC rate recovery, according to major owners in the sector.

The cartel is widely expected to turn down the taps to help address a slump in the price of oil since it agreed to boost production this summer.

Jeff Pribor, chief financial officer of International Seaways, said the upturn in tanker rates this winter had allowed owners to eat the cake created by a reduction in global inventories.