Tankers steered back from the brink
A recent spike in rates has rescued tanker owners, but the reprieve could be short-lived
Crude and product tanker owners hemorrhaged cash in the first three quarters of 2018, then pulled out of their slump in the fourth as spot freight rates surged. Any threat that oil shippers' tanker counterparties could go bankrupt and default on their obligations has been alleviated—at least for now. Crude tanker owners' reserves were fattened by very strong years in 2015-16, but excessive newbuild orders caused freight pricing to fall much more steeply than expected in 2018. Jonathan Chappell, a shipping analyst at investment bank Evercore ISI, described 2018 in a year-end client note as having "the worst three-quarter start to any year in many decades". At an investor event in New York in
Also in this section
9 January 2026
OPEC+ remains on track as output falls, with only Gabon failing to hit its output targets in December, although Kazakhstan’s compliance was involuntary
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
