Tanker Owners Cash In on a Seller’s Market

By Ira Breskin NEW YORK —

This is a seller’s market for tankers.

That was the consensus of industry experts speaking here this week at the 31st annual Hellenic-American/Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce Shipping conference. A confluence of factors should now drive tanker sales, they said.

Chief among them is the strong market and favorable charter rates for most classes of these ships, specifically crude oil tankers, said Michael Choina, head of the American transportation practice at ING Financial Services. Favorable market conditions will likely continue for the next few years, he said.

Industry consultancy Clar…