If the woes of the tanker market in 2021 could be summarised in one conversation, it might have been the one that happened after VLCC owner DHT Holdings presented yet another disappointing quarterly earnings report on 3 November.

"It seems like we keep talking about the recovery that's been delayed. That's both you and me," offered Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell in a question to chief executive Svein Moxnes Harfjeld.