Repsol is said to have hired the 317,000-dwt Olympic Light (built 2011) on a 13 to 15 month deal placed at $48,500 daily.

It follows just a week after Shell’s fixture of the 309,270-dwt Olympic Legend (built 2003) for a two-year period at $39,000 per day, as reported by TradeWinds on Friday.

Onassis bought the Olympic Light as Fortune Elephant last summer as the fleet of TMT was auctioned off. It paid $78.1m for the ship.

Ben Nolan of Stifel says around 24 VLCCs have now been fixed on potential storage contracts as traders look to play contango in the oil price.

“As more of the fleet is contracted on period charters, the crude tanker supply/demand balance should tighten well into 2015,” Nolan said in his weekly report.

“However, we do believe that the potential unwinding of slow steaming could offset this impact resulting in a rate ceiling.”

Analysts at RS Platou Markets saw the situation slightly differently.

“That speed is currently increasing is a good thing because it just means rates are high,” its analysts said yesterday.

“Unlike marathon runners, shipping is not a race for speed but a competition to generate the highest possible earnings during its voyage.”

source:www.tradewindsnews.com