Plenty of red ink was spilt when crude tanker owners reported their first-quarter results.

But executives of leading companies, suffering for nearly two years because of the pandemic, are confident that things are looking up. And with good reason, as all the owners that published forward fixtures data have seen leaps in rates.

“Spot tanker rates have increased following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and look to remain volatile in the coming weeks and months as the situation continues to unfold,” chief executive Kevin Mackay said on Teekay Tankers’ first-quarter earnings call.