VesselsValue.com said in a report released Wednesday that the values for older tankers rose remarkably last year – and for most classes, the older the better.

Leading the pack, 20-year-old Suezmaxes saw their value jump by nearly 60%, followed closely by 18-year old VLCCs at an increase of 43%.

Last September, the firm had forecast a potential upside to VLCC values, noting that the tankers were trading near the historical median price despite high charter rates. The recent gains appear to validate those predictions, at least for older vessels.

At that time, VesselsValue.com CEO Richard Rivlin said that "VLCC values have not risen nearly as fast as rates as sellers are hesitant due to the high earnings they are achieving and the potential for values to keep rising. At the same time, buyers have been sceptical about how long this good market will be around due to the large numbers of newbuildings being delivered over the next 2-3 years. However, many are now starting to believe the market has legs and that there may still be some way to go. The historical data supports this as it shows that VLCC values are nearly at their historical average... while 2015 rates have been significantly higher."