Monday, November 26, 2007

Dahlman Rose Upgrades FRO and OSG

Crude Oil Declines as Reports Show OPEC Production Increase
By Mark Shenk
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg)




Crude oil fell on speculation that OPEC is increasing production to reduce record prices and keep the global economy from slowing.

The 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably increase output 1.1 percent to 31.6 million barrels a day this month, according to preliminary estimates by PetroLogistics Ltd. OPEC agreed in September to raise production targets for the 10 members with quotas by 1.9 percent starting Nov. 1.

``The Petrologistics numbers are showing a good-size build in OPEC output,'' said Tim Evans, an analyst with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``Most of the increase is from Iraq, which is fairly encouraging.''

Crude oil for January delivery fell 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $97.70 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $99.11 today, the highest since reaching a record $99.29 on Nov. 21. Oil futures trading began in 1983. Prices are up 65 percent from a year ago.

Iraq, which last month resumed exports from Kirkuk through its northern pipeline network, will make the biggest contribution to the supply increase, raising output by 20 percent to 2.15 million barrels a day, according to PetroLogistics, which assesses supply by tracking tankers.

Iraqi Recovery

``This is the highest we've seen since the U.S. invasion in 2003 and may be a sign that the Iraqi oil industry is finally recovering,'' said Evans.

Iraqi production has yet to recover from the unrest that followed the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Iraq produced 2.48 million barrels a day in February 2003, the last month before the invasion. The Persian Gulf country has the world's third-biggest proved oil reserves, according to BP Plc.

Saudi Arabia is producing more than 9 million barrels a day, CNBC reported, citing unidentified people at the Saudi oil ministry. The country, which is OPEC's largest producer and the world's top oil exporter, pumped an average 8.75 million barrels a day in October, the highest since November 2006, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

Prices also fell on signs that slowing economic growth in the U.S., Europe and Japan will curb fuel consumption. Investor optimism about financial markets in the U.S., which consumes a quarter of the world's oil, fell this month to the lowest in two years after concern grew that the country is heading toward a recession, according to a UBS AG poll.

The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism dropped to 44 in November from 70 last month. The sentiment gauge declined to the lowest level since Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast and is down from a three-year high of 103 in January.

Frontline Ltd., the world's biggest supertanker operator, and Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. had their ratings raised by Dahlman Rose & Co. because of increasing OPEC shipments. Ship- hire rates on tankers sailing to Asia from the Middle East, the world's busiest market for supertankers, more than doubled since Nov. 9, according to data from the London-based Baltic Exchange. Dahlman is an investment bank that specializes in marine transport companies and related industries.

OPEC will load 24.5 million barrels a day onto tankers in the four weeks to Dec. 8, compared with 23.8 million barrels in the month ended Nov. 10, Oil Movements said on Nov. 22. It will be OPEC's 14th consecutive weekly increase and the biggest this year, according to the company, which tracks shipments.

Upcoming Meeting

The group, which produces more than 40 percent of the world's oil, is scheduled to discuss crude-oil production for the first quarter of 2008 at a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5.

``We are primed to make another run for $100,'' said Eric Wittenauer, an analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. ``There's a good shot we will make it this time but once that occurs there is no telling what will happen.''

The dollar dropped to a record low against the euro earlier today on concern U.S. credit-market losses may prompt the Federal Reserve to keep reducing interest rates. The U.S. currency recovered against the euro later in the session.

``On one hand there's growing evidence that demand will drop,'' Wittenauer said. ``Economic concerns are being reflected in a number of markets. At the same time, we are seeing weakness in the dollar, which tends to push commodity prices higher.''







Sunday, November 25, 2007

Persian Gulf Rates Surge Most in Three Years

Persian Gulf Oil-Tanker Rates Surge Most in Almost Three Years
By Alaric Nightingale
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg)

The cost of shipping Middle East crude oil to Asia, the world's busiest market for supertankers, climbed by the most in almost three years as demand eliminated a glut of ships that were competing for cargoes.

Hire rates for the key benchmark voyage to Japan climbed 29.5 percent today, the biggest one-day increase since Jan. 30, 2005, according to data from the London-based Baltic Exchange.

Supply of tankers to load in the first half of December is getting ``tighter and tighter,'' Atsuto Otani, a London-based broker at Galbraith's Ltd., said by phone today. ``Sometimes when cargoes rush into the market, charterers just panic and pay up.''

PTT Pcl, Thailand's biggest energy company, hired the vessel Asian Progress II at a rate of 134 Worldscale points, Oslo-based shipbroker PF Bassoe A/S said in a report today. The Baltic Exchange's benchmark rate for a comparable voyage to Singapore rose to 130 points.

Worldscale points are a percentage of a nominal rate, or flat rate, for more than 320,000 specific routes. Flat rates for every voyage, quoted in U.S. dollars a ton, are revised annually by the Worldscale Association in London to reflect changing fuel costs, port tariffs and exchange rates.

Each flat rate assessment gives owners and oil companies a starting point for negotiating hire rates without having to calculate the value of each deal from scratch.

At 130 Worldscale points, owners of double-hulled very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, can earn about $85,498 a day on a 25- day round trip from Saudi Arabia to Singapore, based on a formula by R.S. Platou, an Oslo-based shipbroker, and Bloomberg marine fuel prices.

`Plenty' of Vessels

Gains may be tempered once refineries start booking ships to load after Dec. 20 when ``plenty'' of vessels will become available, Otani said. Out of the 64 tankers so far hired to load in December, none have been arranged to load after the 20th of the month, Paris-based shipbroker Barry Rogliano said in an e- mailed report today.

There are 52 carriers available for hire up to Dec. 23, according to Barry Rogliano. That compares with 52 likely outstanding cargoes for the remainder of the month.

Demand for crude oil will rise 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008, the biggest year-on-year gain since the first three months of 2005, according to data from the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Frontline Ltd., the world's biggest VLCC operator, said Nov. 15 it needs $30,000 a day to break even on each of its supertankers.

Bookings for VLCCs sailing from the Middle East to Asia account for 47 percent of global demand for the carriers, according to New York-based McQuilling Brokerage Partners LLP. Shipments to the U.S. and Caribbean, the second-biggest market, account for 14 percent of demand for supertankers.


Asian Aframax Rates May Rise a Sixth Week on December Cargoes
By Katherine Espina
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg)

Asian aframax rates may extend gains for a sixth week on increased demand for December cargoes before the Northern Hemisphere winter.

The rate to transport 80,000 metric tons of fuel from Kuwait to Singapore, the world's fourth-busiest route for such ships, rose 0.9 percent to Worldscale 148.86 yesterday, the highest since July 3, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Shipping a ton of fuel on the route costs $13.96, based on Bloomberg data.

Aframax rates on the Middle East-Singapore route have gained 27 percent in the past five weeks, boosted by higher bunker prices and shipments of November cargoes. The surge in rates of supertankers, also known as very large crude carriers or VLCCs, may boost charter fees of smaller ships like aframaxes.

The hiring rate of supertankers for the benchmark voyage to Japan climbed 20 percent yesterday, the biggest one-day increase since March 11, 2005, according to data from the Baltic Exchange. A supertanker can transport 2 million barrels of oil.

``The jump in the VLCC market will initially boost sentiment,'' Channa Munasinghe, director at Singapore-based shipbroker Alliance Tanker Chartering Pte, said in a phone interview today. Cargoes for supertankers may eventually be split for transport into smaller vessels.

That ``could potentially create a jump, not immediately but in about two to three weeks,'' Munasinghe said. Rates for aframaxes may rise 5 to 10 points next week, he said.

Exxon Mobil

``The stronger VLCC market should in turn lead to an improved sentiment for smaller tanker tonnage,'' Henrik With and Glenn Lodden, analysts at Oslo-based DnB NOR Markets, said in a weekly report.

Four aframaxes, which are able to transport a combined 439,703 deadweight tons of cargo, are scheduled to arrive in Singapore this week, and one, capable of moving 98,570 tons, next week, according to Bloomberg data.

Exxon Mobil Corp. hired the tanker Aegean Harmony to transport 90,000 tons of fuel oil on Nov. 22 at the rate of Worldscale 170, Seatown Shipbroking Pte in Singapore said in a report today.

At that rate, moving 80,000 tons of fuel oil will cost Worldscale 151.10, a 1.5 percent premium to prices quoted on the Baltic Exchange for the Middle-East to Singapore route.

The double-hulled Aegean Harmony was built in 2007 by South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries Co., according to Bloomberg data. Exxon is the world's largest oil company.

Southeast Asia is the world's busiest aframax market after the Mediterranean. The Caribbean is the third busiest.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Earnings Releases Third Quarter 2007

ArlingtonATBOct. 23rdloss
OverseasOSGOct. 29thprofit falls 71%
General MaritimeGMROct. 31stprofit falls 54%
TeekayTKOct. 31stprofit falls 78%
TsakosTNPNov. 5thprofit rises
Top TankersTOPTNov. 9thloss
Nordic AmericanNATNov. 5thloss
Double HullDHTMon, Nov. 19???
KnightsbridgeVLCCFFri, Nov. 30thconfirmed
Ship FinanceSFLNov. 15thprofit falls 55%
FrontlineFRONov. 15thprofit falls 78%
Euronav[Europe]Oct. 23rdloss
MISC[Malaysia]DateResult
------------

updated Nov 18th

Ship Finance 3Q Profit Falls 55 Percent

Ship Finance 3rd-Qtr Profit Falls 55 Percent As Revenue Falls Faster Than Expenses
November 15 (AP)


Ship Finance International Ltd. said Thursday its net income fell more than half in the third quarter, as revenue fell at a higher rate than expenses and its spot-tanker business delivered lower profits.
Profit fell 55 percent to $20.6 million, or 28 cents per share, from $45.7 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 23.3 percent to $93.4 million from $121.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 43 cents per share on revenue of $97.5 million, on average.

Though operating expenses also fell, they used up about 36 percent of revenue last quarter compared with 29 percent in the year-ago period. Results also included a loss of $7.2 million or 10 cents per share, from a noncash accounting adjustment.

The company also said the spot-tanker market has been "substantially weaker" and negatively impacted earnings.

Ship Finance shares fell 55 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $25.80 in afternoon trading.

Frontline Third-Quarter Profit Falls 76%

Frontline Third-Quarter Profit Tumbles on Hire Rates
By Alaric Nightingale
Nov. 15 (Bloomberg)


Frontline Ltd., the world's biggest operator of supertankers, said third-quarter profit tumbled 76 percent as it leased out ships for less and fuel costs surged.

Net income fell to $24.2 million, or 32 cents a share, from $98.8 million, or $1.32, a year earlier, Hamilton, Bermuda-based Frontline said in a statement to the Oslo stock exchange today. That missed the $40 million, or 53-cents-a-share, median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Refineries are cutting crude-oil imports because of reduced processing margins, Frontline said. At the same time, fuel costs for shipping lines are increasing as oil prices reach a record. Tanker-rental rates also shrank because of the ``high availability'' of ships, the company said.

``They are hardly making any money,'' said Siri Evjemo Nysveen, a broker at Kaupthing Ltd. in London, who until September covered Frontline as an analyst at the bank. ``This is a very negative report.'' The company may be forced to cut its profit outlook for 2008, she said.

The shares closed down 3.5 kroner, or 1.6 percent, to 213 kroner in Oslo trading, the lowest since April 26. The slide pared the stock's advance this year to 19 percent, valuing the company at 15.9 billion kroner ($2.9 billion).

Earnings from Frontline's very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, declined 39 percent to $36,000 a day, while those from its 1 million-barrel carriers declined 37.5 percent to $25,000 a day. Breakeven levels are $30,000 and $22,100 respectively.

Independent Tankers

Frontline's third-quarter sales slumped 32 percent to $276 million. Profit included a gain of $4.8 million on the sale of the tanker Front Horizon. Excluding that transaction, net income was $19.3 million, less than the $28 million, or 38.5-cent-a- share, median estimate from 10 analysts.

The company is continuing to investigate ``alternatives and options'' for its Independent Tankers Corp., a Cayman Islands- based business that owns 10 tankers leased out on fixed-rate charters to BP Plc and Chevron Corp., Chief Executive Officer Bjoern Sjaastad said on a conference call today.

Frontline would have to make a deal with bondholders and the oil companies who are leasing the ships before it could sell the company or the vessels it owns, Sjaastad said. ITC's outstanding debt is $469.7 million and it is paying an 8.5 percent interest rate to finance its ships.

Tanker Sale

Operating performance in the final three months of the year will be ``in line'' with the third quarter, Frontline said. Net income will be buoyed by the sale of shares of Imarex NOS ASA, an Oslo-based derivatives broker, and Dockwise Ltd., a company that hauls oil rigs.

World oil demand will rise 2.3 percent next year, Frontline said, citing data from the International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 nations.

The carrying capacity of the global fleet of VLCCs will climb almost 6 percent to about 156.5 million tons in 2008, from about 148 million tons at the end of this year, according to estimates from London-based shipbroker Galbraith's Ltd.

The Galbraith's assessment assumes 40 new VLCCs will enter service next year, each with a capacity of about 310,000 tons, and 15 carriers that can each haul about 260,000 tons will be switched to other trades.

At least 38 VLCCs will be converted to ``non-trading purposes'' worldwide by the end of 2008, Frontline said today. Of those ships, 90 percent will become iron-ore carriers, and 10 percent will be turned into storage and production vessels.

The company plans a dividend of $1.50 a share for the third quarter. Frontline has said it plans to pay about 100 percent of profits to shareholders in the form of dividends.

About 40 percent of Frontline's fleet is protected from possible declines next year in the single-voyage, or spot, market through shipping contracts with oil companies that pay a fixed daily amount.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Friday, November 9, 2007

Top Tankers Q3 loss widens

Top Tankers Q3 loss widens; shares hit year-low
Nov 8th, 2007
(Reuters)


Top Tankers Inc. (TOPT), which transports refined petroleum products and crude oil, reported a wider third-quarter loss on lower demand and rates for its vessels, sending shares down as much as 12 percent to a new year-low.

Prolonged warm weather in most parts of Europe and the United States, higher-than-anticipated fuel-oil inventories at the beginning of the period and constant rise of oil prices, led to a softer demand for crude oil during the quarter, the Greek company said.

Total available ship days fell to 1,987 during the latest third quarter, from 2,484 in the year-ago quarter. Total average time charter equivalent fell 20 percent to $22,467 per ship per day.

For the third quarter, the company reported a net loss of $18.4 million, or 50 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $11.4 million, or 35 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Voyage revenue fell 27 percent to $51.2 million.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to post a loss of 41 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $46.3 million.

The stock was trading down 5 percent at $4.79 in late morning trade on the Nasdaq, after hitting a low of $4.41 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Hezron Selvi in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Monday, November 5, 2007

Nordic American posts third quarter loss

Nordic American to buy two new vessels, posts loss
Nov 5th, 2007
(Reuters)


Oil tanker operator Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd (NAT) on Monday said it will buy two new vessels for $90 million each.

The company said the two suezmax new-buildings are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2009 and by April 2010. Nordic American said the transactions will be financed by borrowings under its $500 million credit line.

The company also posted a third-quarter loss of $1.2 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with net income of $20.3 million, or 97 cents a share a year earlier.

Tsakos third quarter profit rises

Tsakos Energy Navigation 3rd-Quarter Profit Increases on Larger Fleet, Capital Gains
Nov 5th, 2007
(AP)


Greek tanker owner Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. reported higher third-quarter net income Monday as an expanded fleet and a large capital gain lifted earnings above Wall Street expectations.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $50 million, or $2.61 per share, from $44.5 million, or $2.33 per share, during the same period a year earlier. The latest quarter included capital gains of $31.8 million, compared with similar gains of just $13.3 million a year ago.

Revenue increased to $122.5 million from $115.2 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings excluding items of $1.12 per share on revenue of $106 million.

Tsakos' fleet grew to an average of 43.6 vessels during the quarter, compared with 37.1 a year ago. That increased revenue after commissions and costs by 3.9 percent, the company said, though depreciation and financing costs also increased.

The company did say its time charter equivalent per ship per day was $26,467 in the third quarter of 2007, down from $29,779 in the third quarter of 2006.

Tsakos said that though the seasonally weak third quarter, when refiners scale back crude demand ahead of the switch-over to heating oil, has ended, spot rates for both crude and product tankers have not yet reached the levels typically expected for the seasonally strong fourth quarter.

Tsakos shares rose $3.58, or 5.4 percent, to $69.56 in midday trading.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Teekay third quarter profit falls 78%

Teekay third-quarter profit falls as rates drop
Oct 31
(Reuters)

Oil tanker operator Teekay Corp (TK) said on Wednesday its quarterly profit fell as tanker charter rates and tanker freight rates declined.

The company said net income fell to $17 million, or 23 cents per share, from $79.8 million, or $1.07 per share, in the same period a year ago.

Seasonal oil field maintenance in the North Sea, and hurricane-related oil field outages led to lower oil export volumes and lower rates, the company said.

Net revenue rose to $462.3 million from $344.3 million in the third quarter a year earlier, the company said.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

GMR third quarter profit falls 54%

GMR Announces Third Quarter Results

Oct. 31
PRNewswire-FirstCall


General Maritime Corporation today reported its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007.

Financial Review: 2007 Third Quarter

The Company had net income of $10.9 million, or $0.36 basic and $0.35 diluted earnings per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to net income of $24.0 million, or $0.78 basic and $0.76 diluted earnings per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2006. The decrease in net income was principally the result of lower voyage revenues attributable to a generally lower rate environment in the third quarter of 2007. The impact of lower rates on the Company was mitigated by the Company's increased time charter coverage at rates above current spot rates. Results for the 2007 period also reflected higher interest expense due to increased borrowings to fund our $15.00 special dividend in March 2007 and increased off-hire days due to longer then anticipated drydockings and one accelerated drydocking in the third quarter of 2007.

Peter C. Georgiopoulos, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, "During the third quarter of 2007, we continued to benefit from the strategic decision we made over a year ago to place a significant portion of our fleet on accretive time charters. The considerable success we have had in this important area is testimony to our strong reputation in the industry and unrelenting focus on effectively managing the Company's assets through the shipping cycles. Complementing our solid results for the third quarter, we declared a third quarter dividend of $0.50 per share, our third consecutive dividend under the Company's fixed annual dividend of $2.00 per share. Including this quarterly dividend and the $15 special dividend we paid on March 23, 2007, General Maritime has distributed dividends of $24.78 per share to shareholders since 2005. With 70% time charter coverage for our fleet on the water, we have contracted revenues of $191.8 million for 2008, which positions the Company well for our $2.00 fixed dividend target while maintaining upside potential to benefit from any rate increases in the future."

Included in net income of $10.9 million are a $3.4 million unrealized non- cash gain associated with the change in fair value of our freight derivative as well as a $1.3 million gain associated with monthly cash settlements of our freight derivative, both of which are included in Other (income) expense.

Net voyage revenue, which is gross voyage revenues minus voyage expenses unique to a specific voyage (including port, canal and fuel costs), decreased 12.2% to $49.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $55.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006. EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2007 was $31.0 million compared to $34.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006 (please see below for a reconciliation of EBITDA to net income). Net cash provided by operating activities was $18.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $15.6 million for the prior year period.

The average daily time charter equivalent, or TCE, rates obtained by the Company's fleet decreased by 15.9% to $30,176 per day for the three months ended September 30, 2007 from $35,886 for the prior year period. The Company's average rates for vessels on spot charters decreased by 51.9% to $18,246 for the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $37,994 for the prior year period.

Total vessel operating expenses, which are direct vessel expenses and general and administrative expenses, increased 7.1% to $22.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2007 from $21.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006. Direct vessel operating expenses increased 15.5% to $12.7 million from $11.0 million, while general and administrative expenses remained flat at $9.9 for the same periods. The average size of General Maritime's fleet increased 7.8% to 19.4 vessels in the third quarter of 2007 from 18 vessels in the prior year period. On a daily basis, direct vessel operating expenses increased 7.2% to $7,125 during the quarter ended September 30, 2007 compared to $6,645 for the prior year period. This increase can be attributed to cost associated with bringing the technical management of two of our Aframax vessels in-house and the write off of certain expenses reflecting insurance claim deductibles as well as increased premiums reflecting the increased value of our fleet.

Financial Review: Nine Months 2007

Net income was $39.4 million or $1.29 basic and $1.25 diluted earnings per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $134.4 million, or $4.24 basic and $4.13 diluted earnings per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. Net voyage revenues decreased 16.0% to $161.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $192.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. EBITDA was $91.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $165.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. Net cash provided by operating activities was $79.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $135.4 million for the prior year period. TCE rates obtained by the Company's fleet decreased 4.4% to $33,002 per day for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 from $34,508 for the prior year period. Total vessel operating expenses remained relatively flat at $70.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to $70.7 million for the prior year period, and daily direct vessel operating expenses rose 9.3% to $6,777 for the nine month period ending September 30, 2007 from $6,203 from the prior year period.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

OSG Q3 Profit Falls 71%

Overseas Shipholding Third-Quarter Profit Falls 71%
By Todd Zeranski
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg)

Overseas Shipholding Group, the largest U.S.-based oil tanker owner, said third-quarter profit fell 71 percent as the company was paid less for oil deliveries.

Net income declined to $26.6 million, or 83 cents a share, from $90.8 million, or $2.29, a year earlier, the New York-based company said in a statement today. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 70 cents a share. Revenue rose 4.3 percent to $277.2 million.

Shipping rates have fallen 19 percent this year, according to the Baltic Dirty Tanker Index. The decline is due at least partly to ship supply outpacing crude-oil demand. While the size of the world fleet expanded 3.8 percent, demand increased 1.7 percent, according to the International Energy Agency.

``They're going to have a tough couple of quarters, this and next,'' Natasha Boyden, a Cantor Fitzgerald LP analyst, who has a ``buy'' rating on the stock, said. ``The rates haven't rebounded like we thought they would. Weather hasn't been helpful, and that's usually the biggest driver.''

Overseas Shipholding was unchanged at $69.21 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has risen 23 percent this year.

Profit included a gain from sales of vessels of $1.5 million, or 5 cents a share. The year-ago quarter had a gain of $15.8 million, or 39 cents.

Oil is up 53 percent in 2007 and reached a record $93.80 a barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange trading today.

Tanker Fleet

The world fleet will increase by as much as 32 percent during the next five years, estimates Lloyd's Register-Fairplay, the company that assigns ship registration numbers.

``We hope we would see asset values come down, as rates have been depressed for several quarters,'' Boyden said. Overseas Shipholding ``would like to see that, because they would be able to buy.''

Last month, Overseas Shipping said it would add four Suezmax carriers, which can each transport 1 million barrels of oil, to its fleet. The company owned or operated 51 crude-oil tankers at the end of the quarter, including 20 very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, which can carry 2 million barrels of oil.

The company has booked 44 percent of the fourth quarter for its VLCCs at an average rate of $25,500 a day. For its Aframax tankers, which can transport 600,000 barrels of oil, it has booked 13 percent of the quarter at a spot charter rate of $17,000 a day.

VLCC Fleet

The company's VLCCs operate mainly out of the Persian Gulf on routes to Asia and the U.S. The tanker owner said it was paid an average of $34,802 a day for its VLCCs in the quarter, a 50 percent decrease. Its break-even point for VLCCs is $17,400.

Its Aframax tankers earned an average spot rate of $24,614, from $34,952 a day a year earlier, a 30 percent decline.

Overseas Shipholding's U.S.-flag fleet ships crude oil and refined products between U.S. ports under the Jones Act, a 1920 law that requires commercial vessels operated between U.S. ports to be built in the U.S., crewed by Americans and owned by an American company.

Revenue for its U.S. fleet nearly tripled to $53.8 million.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tanker Fleets

Company Fleets [Draft]

625 pixels - 10 columns - 8pt (reset font)

Company ticker vessels dwt* VLCC Suezmax Aframax Panamax Product LNG
Teekay TK

159

7.73

1

25

46

0

30

7

Frontline [2] FRO

59

14.70

39

20

0

0

0

0

Overseas OSG

108

8.15

20

0

20

11

34

0

Ship Finance [2] SFL

37

9.60

27

10

0

0

0

0

Tsakos TNP

43

3.04

3

10

8

0

21

1

General Maritime GMR

19

2.15

0

9

10

0

0

0

Top Tankers TOPT

23

1.95

0

13

0

0

10

0

Knightsbridge VLCCF

5

1.50

5

0

0

0

0

0

Double Hull [1] DHT

8

1.37

3

1

4

0

0

0

Nordic American -----

12

1.80

0

12

0

0

0

0

Arlington ATB

9

7.00

2

0

0

2

5

0

----- -----

-----

---

--

--

--

--

--

--

Euronav [Eur]

32

dwt

15

15

2

0

0

0

MISC (Malaysia) -----

45

dwt

8

0

31

0

6

23

Total -----

vessels

dwt

96

126

86

13

100

31



updated October 2007
[1] DHT tankers chartered in from OSG
[2] Many ships are in both FRO and SFL fleets, SFL charters to FRO.

* million deadweight tons. This number is an estimate based only on the crude tankers in the fleets. Product carriers, LNG carriers, and any other vessels are not included. 300,000 dwt per VLCC; 150,000 dwt per Suezmax; 80,000 dwt per Aframax; and 50,000 dwt per Panamax - regardless of actual individual tanker specifications. This number should only be used as an estimate of total capacity.

Arlington Tankers Slips To Loss In Q3

Arlington Tankers Slips To Loss In Q3; Declares Dividend
October 23, 2007
(RTTNews)


Arlington Tankers Ltd. reported third quarter net loss of $41 thousand, compared to a profit of $37 thousand in the earlier year quarter. On a per share basis, company reported breakeven, flat with last year.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the quarter was $4.91 million or $0.32 per share, in comparison with $5.23 million or $0.34 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 3 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter.

Quarterly total revenue decreased to $17.51 million from $17.60 million in the year ago quarter. Two Wall Street analysts projected revenues of $17.62 million for the quarter.

In addition, the company Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.59 per share. The dividend is payable on November 6, 2007 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 2, 2007.

The Company expects to announce its next dividend on January 29, 2008 and to pay that dividend on or about February 12, 2008.

Euronav NV loses $23 million

Euronav NV (EURN BB): Belgium's only publicly traded oil- tanker owner said it had a third-quarter loss of $23.3 million on lower rates and rising marine-fuel costs. Euronav said it remains ``cautious'' on the outlook for the rest of the year and the start of 2008. The shares declined 10 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 20.71 euros.

Bloomberg Oct. 24th

Monday, October 22, 2007

Analysts Trash Tanker Stocks

Frontline, Teekay Crash Nears Amid Tanker Glut, Crude
By Alaric Nightingale and Todd Zeranski
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg)


The record increase in oil prices and the unprecedented number of new tankers transporting crude is a stock market crash waiting to happen.

That, at least, is the growing consensus among analysts who say the widening gap between West Texas Intermediate crude and the rate for supertankers shipping Middle East oil to Asia means industry titans Frontline Ltd., Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. and Teekay Corp. have unsustainable valuations.

The Bloomberg Tanker Index has risen 44 percent in the past two years, even as freight rates sank 49 percent. The price of marine fuel, the biggest cost for shipowners, has advanced 44 percent in that time, reaching a record $446.50 a metric ton on Oct. 17. The number of ships available is close to a record.

``It doesn't look good at all,'' said Andreas Vergottis, who helps manage $1.2 billion at Isle of Man-based Tufton Oceanic Ltd., the world's biggest hedge fund dedicated to shipping. ``We've got a wall of worry and a wall of new buildings flooding the market ahead of us.'' He said the stocks are 30 percent overvalued.

Frontline, the world's biggest operator of supertankers, reached a record low of 3.80 kroner in December 1998. The stock this year has gained 30 percent and was trading 2.1 percent lower at 233 kroner as of 12:03 p.m. in Oslo. The gain has helped make Chairman John Fredriksen into Norway's richest man, with a fortune that Forbes magazine estimates at $7 billion.

Too Many Ships

The looming decline for tanker stocks is a legacy of the biggest tanker construction program in history. Teekay, Frontline and Overseas Shipholding in 2004 earned a combined $2.2 billion, triple the level of a year earlier, because of a jump in world oil demand. They used that profit to help order 522 tankers from builders including Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co.

The size of the oil tanker fleet expanded 3.8 percent this year, overwhelming the 1.7 percent increase in crude oil demand estimated by the International Energy Agency. The fleet will increase by as much as 32 percent during the next five years, estimates Lloyd's Register-Fairplay, the company that assigns ship registration numbers.

Tankers are being built at the fastest rate ever, according to Clarkson Plc, the world's largest shipbroker, which began collecting industry data in 1852.

Tankers capable of hauling 1.2 billion barrels of crude, equal to about two weeks of global oil consumption, will enter service in the six years that end in 2009, according to Clarkson. The total is 1 percent higher than the previous record, from the 1970s.

Straight to Scrapyards

Ship demand at that time slowed, and newly built tankers were sent straight to demolition, said Per Mansson, a shipbroker for Nor Ocean Stockholm AB, a former second mate and executive at Frontline before Fredriksen bought the company. Some tankers hauled one cargo from Asian shipyards to northwest Europe, only to be laid up in the fjords of Norway, he said.

``It got so bad that, on one voyage from Sweden to Venezuela, we turned the engine off and went with the current down to the Caribbean because fuel was so expensive,'' said Mansson, 55. ``We got a telegram from Exxon to go at 7 knots, so we just floated down.''

The Bloomberg Tanker Index has gained 32 percent this year, outpacing a 5.8 percent increase in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, and a 6.4 percent drop in U.S. government 10-year bonds. Oil is up 41 percent and reached a record $90.07 a barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange trading on Oct. 19.

Teekay has appreciated 32 percent this year to $57.72 on the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the Bahamas-based company at $4.3 billion. Overseas Shipholding, based in New York, has advanced 27 percent to $71.56.

Demolitions

Shares of Frontline are heading for an 11 percent decline, according to Henrik With, the DnB Nor Markets analyst whose advice on Frontline gave clients a 91 percent gain in the past year. Teekay may decline 26 percent, he forecasts. Among all analysts tracked by Bloomberg, at least 70 percent say the two stocks aren't worth buying.

Frontline Chief Executive Officer Bjoern Sjaastad in an interview said oil carriers will be sold and converted to haul bulk commodities, easing the ship surplus. Also, the speed of demolitions ``will go a lot faster than many people think,'' bolstering freight rates, he said.

Teekay spokeswoman Alana Duffy said the company can't comment before an earnings release at the end of the month. Overseas Shipholding spokeswoman Jen Schlueter said CEO Morten Arntzen wasn't immediately available for an interview.

Time Charters

Shipowners can protect against a drop in the single-voyage market by leasing vessels on so-called time charter contracts that can last months or years, while paying a fixed amount.

About 40 percent of Frontline's ships had such protection for 2007 and 2008, according to an Aug. 22 statement. Seventeen percent of Teekay's 111 carriers had such contracts, while none of Overseas Shipholding Group's biggest carriers had such deals.

Teekay protects itself against increases in the cost of marine fuel. Frontline and Overseas Shipholding don't. The industry's pricing mechanism, known as Worldscale, is updated once a year to reflect changing fuel prices.

Demand for single-voyage charters is ``stuck in a rut'' because the soaring price of oil is squeezing refiners and discouraging purchases, said Omar Nokta, an analyst at Dahlman Rose & Co. in New York. He advises investors hold their Frontline shares.

Losing Money

Refineries are losing 63 cents on each barrel they process in Europe, compared with a profit of $7.86 in May, because crude costs are rising faster than prices for gasoline and diesel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

``All this weakness is stemming from refineries not being in the market,'' said Nokta, whose call on Frontline during the past year led to a 35 percent profit for investors.

Analysts value shipping stocks in relation to the cost of second-hand tankers. From December 2003 through July 2007, those ship values more than doubled, according to data from the London- based Baltic Exchange. Since then, ship prices have dipped, exchange data show.

``Asset values will fall and dividend payments must be cut,'' said DnB Nor Markets' With. ``Too much fleet capacity coming on stream will put pressure on earnings from 2008 to 2010.''

Freight Rates

Falling freight rates and record fuel costs have given shipowners their longest string of losses in five years, according to Citigroup Inc., the third-largest lender to the shipping industry. So-called very large crude carriers, which transport about 2 million barrels, are losing more than $13,000 a day in the market for day-to-day charters. Shipowners are spending more on fuel and debt payments than they collect in rent.

Suezmax vessels, the biggest tankers that can navigate Egypt's Suez canal while full, are losing more than $10,000 a day. Owners of aframaxes, 600,000-barrel carriers that usually haul crude within the same continent, are losing about $13,000 a day, Citigroup estimates.

Thirty of the largest tankers may be sold and converted into carriers for grain, coal and iron ore, markets where freight rates are at a record high, Frontline's Sjaastad said.

``For the next 15 months, there isn't going to be substantial additions to the fleet, you'll have depletions going to dry bulk,'' said Dahlman Rose's Nokta. ``If you have the demand push, then they'll be able to absorb the vessels. Demand would keep a natural floor.''

China's economy is growing at almost 12 percent a year and India's by 9.3 percent, spurring demand for oil, steel, iron ore and coal.

No Cargoes

Some 50 supertankers have failed to find cargoes in the past month, and vessels will compete for consignments in November, extending declines for owners, forecasts Paris-based shipbroker Barry Rogliano Salles.

Relief may not come until 2010, when the United Nations' shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, adopts a ban on single-hull tankers, those at greatest risk of spilling oil in the event of an accident. Once the policy takes full force five years later, the only tankers plying the oceans must have two steel hulls.

``Everything now is about what happens between today and 2010,'' says Ole Stenhagen, an analyst at SEB Enskilda in Oslo. ``We are in for a real dip in rates and a rough environment.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=anj25lHh6K4E

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Aframax Rates Rise

Caribbean Tanker Rate Increases on Competition From Europe
By Todd Zeranski
Oct. 18 (Bloomberg)

The rate to transport oil from the Caribbean advanced, spurred by higher prices in European shipping markets.

``Mediterranean activity has increased, so some owners are moving there,'' said Mike Jedlicke, a broker at Dietze & Associates LLC in Wilton, Connecticut. ``That's thinning out'' the number of available vessels, straining Caribbean supply.

Stronger Aframax bookings in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea forces Caribbean-area charterers to pay higher rates to keep vessels in the region.

The average Aframax rate advanced 15 points, or 11 percent, to Worldscale 155. WS 155 is equal to about $20,325 a day, after expenses such as fuel and port fees.

The rate fell to WS 92.5 on Sept. 11, the lowest since 2001, according to Bloomberg data. Rates increased 22 percent yesterday and are up 48 percent this week.

Malaysia's Eagle Anaheim Nereo is scheduled to reach its Houston destination on Oct. 21, according to Bloomberg data.

The Caribbean is the world's third-largest Aframax-tanker market after the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. An Aframax is the most common tanker used to move oil in the region.


Persian Gulf Tanker Rates May Rise as Fuel Prices Crimp Income
By Alaric Nightingale
Oct. 18 (Bloomberg)

The cost of shipping Middle East crude to Asia, the world's busiest market for supertankers, may rise for an eighth day as soaring refueling prices continue to crimp income from rentals.

Record marine fuel, or bunker, costs mean some owners, who rented extra tankers at fixed prices anticipating rising demand in the northern hemisphere winter, may be losing about $30,000 a day when they lease out those ships in the day-to-day, or spot market, Charlie Fowle, a director at London-based shipbroker Galbraith's Ltd., said by phone today.

``The bunker factor at the moment is dramatic,'' Fowle said. ``Just to get the same return, owners need 10 to 20 percent more'' from the oil companies who book their ships.

Hyundai Merchant Marine, a South Korean shipowner, hired the tanker Hebei Spirit at a rate of 59 Worldscale points, according to a report from Athens-based Optima Shipbrokers today. That's 3.5 percent above the London-based Baltic Exchange's benchmark assessment of 57.03 Worldscale points for cargoes to Asia.

Hebei Spirit should normally cost less to hire than the benchmark because it's fitted with one steel hull separating its cargo from the ocean. The exchange's assessment also includes carriers with two steel hulls that cut the risk of an oil spill in the event of an accident and usually have better engines.

At 57.03 Worldscale points, owners of double-hulled very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, can earn about $20,024 a day on a 38-day round trip from Saudi Arabia to South Korea, based on a formula by R.S. Platou, an Oslo-based shipbroker, and Bloomberg marine fuel prices.

A week ago, the same rate of 57.03 points would have earned $3,500 a day more when the cost of bunkers was 9 percent cheaper.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Bloomberg Roundup October 13th

Black Sea, Mediterranean Tanker Rates May Rise on Winter Demand
By Alaric Nightingale
Oct. 12 (Bloomberg)


The cost of shipping 80,000-ton cargoes of crude oil from Black Sea and Mediterranean ports to refineries in southern Europe may rise next week as bookings increase before the northern hemisphere winter.

Demand for so-called aframax tankers has been ``busy'' for the past several days, Francesco Sparviero, a broker at Nolarma Tankers SRL in Genoa, said in an e-mailed note today. The extra demand may continue into next week as refineries buy crude to turn into winter fuels such as heating oil, he added.

Increased bookings have cut the number of tankers competing for cargoes and enabled owners to negotiate higher rental rates, Sparviero said. The London-based Baltic Exchange's benchmark rate for shipments across the Mediterranean gained 28 percent to 120.45 Wordscale points in the four days to Oct. 11.

Reduced daylight hours are starting to delay vessels in two Turkish straits that ships exiting and entering the Black Sea must navigate. The average waiting time now is between two and three days going into the Black Sea and about two days to exit, according to Sparviero.

Delays at the two waterways normally rise in winter, reducing the supply of Russian crude to world markets and cutting tanker supply because the ships are unavailable for hire for longer periods.

A rental rate of 120.45 Worldscale points equates to $18,613 a day, according to a formula from Oslo-based shipbroker RS Platou AS and Bloomberg ship-fuel prices. Teekay Shipping Corp., the world's biggest dedicated oil-tanker company and operator of aframaxes, needs about $15,000 a day to break even.



Black Sea, Africa Oil-Tanker Rates May Slump on Surplus Ships
By Alaric Nightingale
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg)


The cost of shipping 1 million-barrel consignments of crude oil from ports in the Black Sea and west Africa may extend two weeks of declines as a surplus of tankers compete for cargoes.

There is a ``long'' list of tankers available to meet ``very little'' demand, Luis Bernar, a tanker broker for Medco Shipbrokers in Madrid, said in an e-mailed note today.

``Everyone is hoping that the last quarter of the year will improve but I'm starting to think this is wishful thinking,'' Bernar said. Rental rates will only improve if there are weather- related delays and cargo demand accelerates, he said.

Rentals from the two ports, the biggest for 1 million-barrel tankers globally, began falling on Sept. 21, with rates from the Black Sea dropping 17 percent and those from west African ports losing 12 percent, according to benchmark data from the London- based Baltic Exchange.

Black Sea hire rates declined to 81.96 points and west African bookings slipped to 82.62 points, according to the most- recent prices from the exchange.

Based on a rental rate of 81.96 Worldscale points, operators of double-hull suezmax vessels earn about $15,508 a day on the 12-day round trip between the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk and Augusta, Italy, according to a formula by R.S. Platou, an Oslo- based shipbroker, and Bloomberg bunker prices.

At 82.62 points, a west African cargo would pay $16,579 a day, according to the same formula.

Frontline Ltd., the world's biggest supertanker operator, said Aug. 22 it needs $22,000 to break even on each of its suezmaxes.

Route Rates 2 - Test

route

class

size

Days

WS

TCE - equiv

breakeven

Date

TD1

VLCC

280 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD2

VLCC

260 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xxx

TD3

VLCC

250 kmt

38 days

51.64

$17,662

$30,000

Oct. 11th

TD4

VLCC

260 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD5

Suezmax

130 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD6

Suezmax

135 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD7

Aframax

80 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD8

Aframax

80 kmt

??

116.00

xxx

xxx

Oct. 11th

TD9

Aframax

70 kmt

??

102.50

$6,500

$15,700

Oct. 11th

TD10

Panamax

50 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD11

Aframax

80 kmt

??

120.45

$18,613

$15,000

Oct. 11th

TD12

Panamax

55 kmt

xxxx

xxxx

$xx,000

xx,000

xxx

TD14

Aframax

80 kmt

xxxx

110.00

xxx

xxx

Oct. 11th

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Backwardation and Contango

Some time ago, a reader asked -

"The crude market seems to be trading back in (at least a mild) backwardation, which means lower inventories. How do you see this impacting on World Scale points/BDTI?"

My view is that the global supply chain for oil is in many cases up to 6 months long, so I typically try to average monthly and weekly figures into periods that are at least 3 months long. Short term fluctuations are just noise. Tanker rates are a matter of supply and demand. There is increasingly less oil being exported and more tankers in all segments entering the market. Even in the face of positive economic growth and supposedly higher demand for oil - the oil simply isn't there to move and their is an increasing glut of tankers. I would expect rates to drop, but there is hardly any room for them to drop, they are already so low.



The only mystery to me is why the valuations for the tanker companies/stocks continue to rise. The investors and the market must see something I'm missing, but I've yet to find what that is.

Here is a good discussion of the backwardation / contango issue :
Speculation and fundamentals in oil prices

Bloomberg Roundup October 11th

Asian Aframax Rate Falls on Limited Cargoes, Ship Supply Gain
By Katherine Espina
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg)

Asian rates for oil tankers that can carry 80,000 metric tons fell for a third day on limited cargoes from the Middle East, causing an oversupply of vessels.

The aframax rate for transporting oil from Kuwait to Singapore, the world's fourth-busiest route for such vessels, dropped 0.08 percent to Worldscale 115.83 yesterday, according to data from the London-based Baltic Exchange. Shipping a ton of fuel on the route costs $11.96, according to Bloomberg data.

``There could be some more room for rates to go down given there are plenty of vessels and little activity,'' Takeshi Ando, a shipbroker at Matsui & Co., said by phone from Tokyo.

Aframax rates have declined 7 percent in the past four weeks, as holidays in China slowed chartering and higher fuel oil prices in Fujairah, the Middle East's largest bunker port, discouraged shipments to the Far East.

Only two aframax tankers capable of moving 215,415 tons of fuel are scheduled to arrive in Singapore next week compared with this week's four, which are able to transport 412,305 tons, Bloomberg data showed. About five to 10 aframaxes are waiting for employment in Singapore this week, shipbrokers said.

Rising supply of new vessels may also contribute to declining rates. More than 240 aframax tankers are on order for the next five years, adding to the 728 units at the end of 2006, France-based shipbroker Barry Rogliano Salles said in its review of the tanker market.

Southeast Asia is the world's second-busiest aframax market, after the Mediterranean. The Caribbean is the third busiest.

Other freight rates. Source: Baltic Exchange:


Route Tons Rate Change Carrier
Kuwait-Singapore 80,000 115.83 -0.08% Aframax
Indonesia-Japan 80,000 110.00 -4.35% Aframax
Persian Gulf-Japan 75,000 113.75 +0.92% Oil Product Tanker
Singapore-Japan 30,000 202.00 -0.04% Oil Product Tanker
Middle East-Japan 55,000 161.73 +4.5% Oil Product Tanker


Persian-Gulf Tanker Costs May Resume Decline on Glut of Ships
By Alaric Nightingale
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg)


The cost of shipping Middle East crude to Asia, which advanced for the first time in 10 days yesterday, may resume its decline as a glut of ships will counter increased demand for cargo from Saudi Arabia.

The London-based Baltic Exchange's key ship-rental rate rose as refinery officials said Dahran-based Saudi Aramco will supply Asian customers with full crude-oil volumes for the first time in a year from November. The company previously cut volumes by 9-10 percent. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has pledged to boost output from next month by 500,000 barrels a day.

``I don't see the market picking up,'' said Mathieu Philippe, a tanker broker in Dubai at Paris-based Barry Rogliano Salles. ``There are plenty of ships around. I don't think these announcements will have any effect for the next few days.''

Fifty-seven tankers that so far haven't been hired are able to reach ports by Oct. 31, according to a Barry Rogliano report, meaning oil-company officials will have a surplus of vessels to use when November bookings get under way.

The Baltic Exchange's rental rate, used in negotiations between shipowners and oil companies and to settle freight hedging contracts, advanced 2.3 percent to 51.64 Worldscale points yesterday, its first gain since Sept. 27.

At 51.64 Worldscale points, owners of double-hulled very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, can earn about $17,662 a day on a 38-day round trip from Saudi Arabia to South Korea, based on a formula by R.S. Platou, an Oslo-based shipbroker, and Bloomberg marine fuel oil prices.

Frontline Ltd., the world's biggest VLCC operator, said Aug. 22 it needs $30,000 a day to break even on each of its supertankers.




Caribbean Tanker Rate Rises as U.S. Crude Oil Inventory Falls
By Todd Zeranski
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg)



The rate to transport oil from the Caribbean rose as U.S. oil inventories declined and refineries increased production.

The Caribbean is the world's third-largest Aframax-tanker market after the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. An Aframax is the most common tanker used to move oil in the region.

The average Aframax rate rose 2.5 points, or 2.5 percent, to Worldscale 102.5. WS 102.5 is equal to about $6,500 a day, after expenses such as fuel and port fees, according to Poten & Partners.

Houston-based broker Lone Star, R.S. Platou reported a rate of WS 105. Poten & Partners reported WS 100.

The rate fell to WS 92.5 on Sept. 11, the lowest since 2001, according to Bloomberg data.

General Maritime Corp., the second-largest U.S. tanker owner behind Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., said last year it had a break-even rate for its fleet of about $15,700 per day. The New York-based company operates many of its vessels in the Caribbean.

Monday, October 8, 2007

BDTI - Baltic Dirty Tanker Index Routes

---FromToSizeClass
TD1MEGUSG280,000mtVLCC
TD2MEGSingapore260,000mtVLCC
TD3MEGJapan250,000mtVLCC
TD4WAFUSG260,000mtVLCC
TD5WAFUSAC130,000mtSuezmax
TD6Black SeaMediterranean135,000mtSuezmax
TD7North SeaEur Continent80,000mtAframax
TD8KuwaitSingapore80,000mtAframax
TD9CaribbeanUSG70,000mtAframax
TD10CaribbeanUSAC50,000mtPanamax
TD11MediterraneanMediterranean80,000mtAframax
TD12AntwerpHouston55,000mtPanamax
TD14IndonesiaJapan80,000mtAframax