Shipbrokers say the Genmar Minotaur (built 1995) was fixed by Seariver and claim the 106,500-dwt Genmar Daphne (built 2002) was taken by Shell.
Both of the aframaxes are believed to have been hired to transport crude from Covenas to the US Gulf in deals minted at Worldscale 80 and 82.5, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Dahlman Rose said modern aframaxes trading in the Medeteranean spot market were enjoying daily rate averages of around $26,780 while units working lanes between the Caribbean and US Gulf saw levels slide to $9,175.
In a note to clients, analysts from ICAP Shipping pointed out that Monday’s sector average weighed in at approximately $11,274 per day, which is nearly $1,000 lower than a year-to-date average of $12,210. One researcher said he expects activity to pick up “slightly” later this week.
As TradeWinds has reported, Genmar recently forged an alliance with Chinese trading giant Unipec. The venture, Unique Tankers, is in the process of setting up pools that will oversee ten of the US shipowner’s suezmaxes and seven VLCCs.
