Almost 100 new tankers are expected to be delivered from shipyards over the second half of the year and overcapacity will continue to be the dominant force in the market.
Around 40 more VLCCs, 25 more suezmaxes, and 30 more aframaxes are scheduled to be delivered by December, on top of the 80 already delivered in the first five months of the year, according to Icap Shipping in its tanker market mid-year assessment.
However, strong rises in oil demand are expected in the second half of the year to ease this oversupply, so long as sovereign debt issues, counter-inflationary measures or other economic problems do not derail economic growth, said Icap.
Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait may be willing to provide additional volumes.
Underscoring this demand rise, the International Energy Agency has predicted an increase in global demand of 1.94m barrels per day in the third quarter from the second quarter, and a further rise of 250,000 bpd in the fourth quarter.