It has been another positive month for crude oil tankers as the geopolitical risk premium, including US interventions in Venezuela and possibly Iran, weigh on oil markets. The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index was up 14% over four weeks to February 20, at 1,787 points, levels not seen since January 2023 when everyone was getting excited about an anticipated tanker supercycle. Prior to that, and ignoring the short-lived spike in earnings in early 2020 due to Covid-19, one has to go back to the real supercycle of 2008 for higher readings. The Baltic Exchange’s VLCC day rate averages $110,854 so far this month making it the best February on record after the best January for 20 years. As of February 20, VLCC earnings were $127,288 basis the Baltic Exchange, up 26% over four weeks. As operators pay around $100,000 a day for a 12 month time charter, depending on the age of the VLCC in question, owners are ever more convinced that this time the supercycle is real. Star of the show currently is the mature Middle East to China voyage, on which the daily hire as of February 20 was an eye-popping $157,358, up 41% over four weeks. On the longer US Gulf to China voyage, rates were up 9% to a tidy $101,466 per day, while the ten day shorter Middle East to Singapore voyage was up 34% at a hair-raising $161,176 per day. Suezmax owners by contrast were looking at an eight per cent fall in daily hire rates on February 20 compared to January 20, though the quantum remains pleasingly toppish at $95,572 per day and the month to date average of $93,520 per day is the highest since December 2022 when it breached six figures. The culprit was a 14% fall in TCEs from the Black Sea to the Med, though from a remarkably high $135,804 per day on January 20 to $116,782 per day on February 20. The daily hire rate on this route actually peaked at a stonking $163,535 per day in January 16 as seasonal weather coincided with the Ukraine war to cut suddenly the supply of available vessels. Further south, Middle East to Med suezmax earnings were down 1% over four weeks at $55,383 per day while the TCE from Guayana to ARA was up 1% at $73,627 per day and that from West Africa to ARA was up 5% at $74,362 per day. Aframax owners also have much to cheer about with the global average day rate on Feb 20 of $78,693 being 20% higher than four weeks earlier, albeit 15% off a peak of $92,562 on January 29. Still the month-to-date and year to date levels of $80,730 and $72,498 put 2026 top of the historical pops for aframax crude oil tanker owners. The oil products tanker market has had a more mixed start to the year as Lunar New Year holidays cut transport fuel demand in Asia. LR2 daily hire on the benchmark voyage from the Middle East to Japan fell 31% over the four weeks to February 20, to $36,767 though the year to date average of $45,127 compares well with $25,171 for January and February last year. On the parallel route from the Middle East to western Europe, rates were down 31% over four weeks to $31,287 though the year to date average of $37,574 again compares well with $30,124 last year. LR1 earnings from the Middle East to Rotterdam were weaker by comparison, falling 33% over the four weeks to February 20, to $22,093, while on the eastbound route from the Middle East to Japan, LR1 earnings fell 27% over the same period to $28,179. The Baltic Exchange’s Atlantic MR basket was up 54% over the four weeks to February 20 to $26,622 led by an 88% increase in rates from the US Gulf to ARA,