Shipowners are hiking the rates for VLCCs on short time charters, riding on buoyant spot earnings and floating storage requirements, according to market participants.

Talk of charters of up to a year have been active in the past week, with the ongoing price war among oil producers expected to boost tanker demand in the coming months.

In contrast, limited interest has been shown in longer charters, with a downbeat market outlook towards the end of 2020.