Greece's Signal Group sees greater optimism in the VLCC sector as the number of tankers available to load in the Middle East Gulf diminishes rapidly.

The artificial intelligence chartering platform said this factor, coupled with a demand recovery, led to firmer sentiment about rates in the final two months of 2021.

At Saudi Arabia's key Ras Tanura port — the world's biggest crude loading facility — Signal identified a declining number of vessels available to load from the beginning of November.