On Tuesday ExxonMobil made TradeWindsheadlines on the heels of rumours that it fixed the 49,000-dwt American Phoenix(built 2012) for six to 12 months at a rate of $120,000 per day.

Today, industry analysts like ErikNikolai Stavseth of Arctic Securities said the transaction, if true, providesfurther evidence that demand for Jones Act tonnage is on the rise.

“We see the rate as supportiveof our view that 2014 and 2015 will represent years of exceptional strength for[Jones Act] shipowners,” he wrote in a daily note.

Stavseth