Spot tanker rates out of the Middle East headed sharply downward Monday as owners threw several vessels at a trickle of cargoes.
Earnings for a tanker fixed today on the Middle East-to-China route dropped 10.7% today to $23,900 per day, according to data from shipbroker Howe Robinson.
That slump came on a day that a single eastbound cargo drew about 10 offers, with the competition pushing rates "heavily downward", the London firm said in a daily report.
Charterers
