According to some shipping and trade sources, the supertankers-scouting by oil traders has risen on the back of the resurgence in coronavirus.
Very large crude carriers (VLCC) are on the trend now with inquiries from trading companies to store diesel with 10 ppm sulfur for up to six months to prepare for the lower demand in Europe amid the reimposed lockdowns.
For some traders at this moment, floating storage is economical as the current freight rates are relatively low. The benchmark 10 ppm gasoil in Singapore has stayed in a contango structure since late-July.
According to two shipping sources, new and clean supertankers would charge around USD38,000-40,000/day.
Actually, several supertankers with 2 million barrels of oil transfer capacity have been booked since the second quarter of 2020, either to ship diesel from Asia to the West or to store diesel when demand was first slumped earlier this year.
