Data shows: A wave of oil tanker bookings is pushing rates to record highs.

Seasure Shipbroking data shows that last week approximately 24 oil tankers signed time-charter agreements, reaching the highest record since May 2020. The one-year time charter rate for VLCCs climbed to a record high of $176,250 per day. In the spot market, the benchmark earnings for VLCCs on the Middle East to China route reached $476,754 per day. A survey indicates that the Middle East region will face an excess of capacity in the next month, with vessel capacity exceeding cargo demand by 15%.