Supertanker Prices May Stay Near Record

By Katherine Espina
May 14 (Bloomberg)

The price of supertankers able to ship 2 million barrels of oil may stay near records because of demand for vessels, shipbroker Poten & Partners said.

The demand for shipyard slots to build very large crude carriers hasn't slipped as prices have risen to more than $130 million, the New York-based shipbroker said in a May 11 report. The rate to hire a tanker on the benchmark route from the Persian Gulf to Japan has gained 67 percent this year.

``With charter rates firm and continued demand for ships strong it is likely that asset prices will be high for quite some time,'' said Poten & Partners. ``Any softening in freight rates may slow the momentum of orders, but will likely have little effect on the asset prices in the near term.''

Prices have risen to records as ship owners compete for space at yards. Record earnings for bulk carriers that ship coal, iron ore and other commodities has increased investment in that sector, taking potential berths for tanker building.

Ships equal to 30 percent of the current fleet of 490 VLCCs are on order, according to Poten & Partners.

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