VLCC spot rates rocketed on Tuesday as the Baltic Exchange’s average of earnings in the sector reached its highest level in 28 months.

New York shipbroker Poten & Partners reported that average time-charter equivalent (TCE) earnings for a 270,000-dwt VLCC with no scrubber jumped to $78,400 per day on Tuesday.

That’s a 19% gain on the $65,700 per day figure reached on Monday for a journey from the Middle East to Asia.