CITIC Securities: The oil shipping industry has good prospects and route rents are on the rise.

615015.74/2020428 CITIC Securities' research report states that the overall operating situation of the international oil shipping industry is improving. Firstly, the optimization of the structural supply pattern, with large shipping companies like Korean Changjin optimizing the pace of capacity deployment, changing the traditional off-season market competition pattern; secondly, sanction measures have brought about amplification effects, leading to a contraction in the operations scale of shadow fleets, and a tightening supply of compliant ultra-large oil tanker capacity; thirdly, crude oil transportation demand is better than expected, with China's strategic purchases combined with structural adjustments in Asian refineries, and ton-miles demand continuing to grow; fourthly, long-distance routes and geopolitical factors provide support, with premiums on routes from the Middle East to Asia and the US Gulf of Mexico to Asia expanding. During the Chinese New Year holiday period, oil shipping market rentals continued to trend upward. Time charter equivalent earnings on the Middle East to China route rose by $6,150 to $157,400 per day, reaching a new high since April 28, 2020.