According to Affinity, “the Atlantic saw sharper declines as cheaper Suezmax cover drew business away from VLCCs, with Brazil-East falling from WS 607 on Monday to WS 572 on Wednesday and WAFR-East falling to WS 500 today. Tighter prompt tonnage could offer some support East of Suez if enquiry continues, while Atlantic VLCCs face a tougher task securing cover as long as smaller tanker classes remain cheaper. After a couple of weeks of weak levels of Suezmax activity and an ever-growing tonnage list, rates were always set to correct downwards, but the speed at which they have dropped has been stark. In WAFR, rates have softened to WS 400 last done, down from approximately WS 700 at the start of the week”.

“CPC rates have also seen a sharp decline, with WS 725 on subs following a very brief return to the conference rate of WS 900 owing to AWRP artificially inflating rates. The US Gulf has also seen a steep correction downwards, with WS 295 now on subs for TA, a decrease from theoretical levels of WS 550, as witnessed in one deal! Rates out of Guyana, meanwhile, have remained untested this week, but the last done of WS 625 does not look repeatable, and it is likely that it will follow the rest of the Atlantic down the slide. East of Suez, things have remained quiet as charterers continue to favour VLCCs; one cargo did emerge, however, with Fujairah-East now paying at WS 535. But given the plethora of tonnage out East, one can expect a long caravan of ships ballasting west to have emerged come Monday morning. The Mediterranean Aframax market weakened this week. Monday opened quietly after a subdued close last Friday, with a long position list and weak sentiment encouraging charterers to test rates lower. By Tuesday, they had capitalised on the tonnage supply to push levels down, and Wednesday brought lacklustre activity with all western markets under pressure. Thursday saw rates slide in 100-point steps on every fixture, leaving charterers firmly in control and further drops still expected. TD19 ends the week at WS 285”, the shipbroker said.

Meanwhile, “it was a similar story in the North Sea, where Aframax rates softened through the week as sharp corrections in surrounding markets made their way into that one. On Monday, lengthy local lists left charterers with the advantage, and Tuesday saw charterers keep enquiries close and conduct off-market fixing. Owners spent Wednesday digesting a sharp correction while charterers pressed for less. By Thursday, with Med and USG rates falling and the entire Atlantic Basin under pressure, TD7 looked overpriced, and further downside is expected. The rate is WS 325 at the time of writing”, Affinity noted.

Meanwhile, in the product tanker segment, the shipbroker commented that “the AG LR2 market has taken some losses this week. Once again, the throughput of CPP to the market depends largely on one Gulf State oil company, and there has been good activity from this area. But with so few chartering conduits to shipowners, there were freight discounts off the back of a positions list longer than what the market has been used to through summer and autumn. 75,000 T naphtha was agreed last week at WS 450, but this week the rate was adjusted sharply down to WS 400. Westbound deliveries were looking poised to go under USD 10 Mn, and it has happened, with USD 9 Mn on subs for Oman-UK Cont via Bab-el-Mandeb. EAFR was also re-adjusted down from 90 x WS 485, with 90 x WS 400 on subs at this time of writing”. Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide