A recovery in US demand for West African crude in March underpinned a rate increase for Suezmaxes operating on the this route, with rates increasing to five points to WS57.
Similarly, rates from the Black Sea to Northwest Europe firmed up by 5% over the month to WS67, helped by an increase in arbitrage returns to ship cargoes from the Black Sea.
Increased demand from Asian refiners points towards more long-haul crude trade from West Africa to the Far East in the near future. However, this is likely to offer a boost to tonne-mile demand for VLCCs rather than Suezmaxes.
Given the subdued demand expected in the longer run, recent increases in rates will provide some solace to Suezmax owners.
The Drewry Tanker Earnings Index takes 11 different trade routes covering both the crude and product sectors of the tanker market. Each route is weighted within its market to produce a monthly time charter earnings index. January 2002 has been designated the starting point at which all the indices = 100.