crude tanker

"Crude-tanker rates at historic levels!" blared the recent headlines. Lost in the media storm: Spot rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers are now higher – much higher – than for crude tankers. Stifel analyst Ben Nolan dubbed LNG carriers "the forgotten tanker." On Oct. 11, rates for very...

Panic drove crude-tanker rates up, very briefly, to mind-bogglingly high levels of over $300,000 per day. Now, the fear factor has been contained. Charterers of very large crude carriers (VLCCs, tankers that carry 2 million barrels of crude) have said "enough" and are holding firm against sky-high...