Norway's Fearnley Securities has sounded a stark warning about product tanker prospects in a "dysfunctional" market.

It has cut all six shipowners it covers in the sector to "hold" from "buy" as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to lay waste to demand. These include Scorpio Tankers, Ardmore Shipping, Hafnia and Diamond S Shipping.

"Fear of major demand destruction in the important gasoline and jet fuel markets makes us take a step back," analysts Espen Landmark Fjermestad, Peder Nicolai Jarlsby and Ulrik Mannhart said in a note on Monday.