VLCCs cleaning up to carry product cargoes have received plenty of attention in shipping in recent weeks, but UK shipbroker Gibson has identified suezmaxes as a potential bigger threat to product carrier owners.
Brokers have noted a shortage of clean tankers due to longer routes around South Africa to avoid the Red Sea, pushing rates up.
This makes cheaper freight rates on crude vessels heading from the Middle East to the West more attractive for traders such as Trafigura.
