Crude carrier supply to stress Mideast to Asia rates in short term

Crude carrier supply to stress Mideast to Asia rates in short term The cost of shipping oil from the Middle East to Asia is expected to rise as the supply of ships used in the trade decreases, Bloomberg reported Friday.
   “There are 35 very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, fitted with double hulls that are available for hire within the next 30 days, according to a report today from Paris-based shipbroker Barry Rogliano Salles,” the news agency reported. “A month ago there were 54 such vessels.”
   'There’s no downside in the short term as I can see, morale is still very high out there,' Halvor Ellefsen, an Oslo-based tanker broker at SeaLeague AS, told Bloomberg. 'However, there’s enough tonnage so I do not foresee a tremendous hike either.'