Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot believes a global resumption of trade can mitigate the looming problem of tanker storage unwinding.

The company said fundamentals in the sector remain strong and that it is optimistic about beating budgetary targets in 2020.

Chief financial officer Nikolay Kolesnikov told TradeWinds that markets have been reaching or approaching historic peaks last seen in 2004 and 2008, with "sky-rocketing" rates, "so it can hardly get any better".