Three Out of Five Converted VLOCs s Are No Longer Operating, BIMCO Analysis Shows
Chennai: Port Wings News Network: Since June 2017, 43% of the VLOC fleet have been sent to the scrapyards, while 18% of the fleet is idled or damaged, a market analysis by Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has revealed. "The tragic Stellar Daisy accident brought the safety aspect of VLOCs into question. Now, three years on, three out of five VLOCs are no longer in operation as their long-term charters have now expired. Going forward, the obsolete VLOCs will be phased out of the market and replaced with technologically superior and more reliable ships," said BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand. The VLOCs were converted from single-hull Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) towards the end of 2000 as an innovative result of the dry bulk super cycle and the IMO regulation which mandated that all single hull tankers should be phased out by 2010. With cheap and obsolete tanker tonnage in the market, investors eyed an opportunity to convert the shi...