Time To Term

With the demand for crude oil and clean products continuing to grow it is not surprising that demand for seaborne transportation is increasing. The marked strength in time charter rates in the past few months has served as one indication that the spot market is expected to maintain or even perhaps increase from current levels for the medium-term. This is particularly true for product carriers. Shown below is the number of reported Handymax time charters with durations of greater than twelve months. The number of reported fixtures for the first nine months is nearly equal to that of the last year’s record level of 92.