The grounding of the stricken oil tanker Erika off the north coast of France in December 1999 contributed to a more stringent use of older tonnage, "which further tightened the market and especially benefited modern tonnage," Frontline said.
Annual average daily time charter equivalents earned by VLCCs and Suezmaxes were $46,300 and $35,500 respectively compared with $20,000 and $16,700 in 1999.
Frontline said it expects rates to reflect seasonal demand changes, with markets improving towards 2H 2001.
"The cutback of 1.5-mil b/d production implemented by OPEC on February 1 2001 partly reflected a slowdown in demand after a very hectic finish of the year," Frontline said.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
