Companies around the world have scrapped a record number of large crude tankers in 2018. About 100 vessels of the industry’s main crude carriers have been sent to India and Bangladesh for demolition, according to data from Clarkson Research Services Ltd., the statistical and research service arm of the world’s largest shipbroker. Bloomberg said the shipping bust is no surprise, as of September the vessels, which transport 40 percent of the world’s crude, were on course for the worst charter rates in three decades. In an August report, Bloomberg specified the implosion of charter rates was due to a two-year reduction of OPEC cargoes and environmental regulations. As we have said before, the global growth slowdown has certainly not helped. (Click to enlarge) Morgan Stanley estimates the global fleet of large crude carriers could lack 100 million barrels of transportation capacity in the first half of 2020. “It prolongs […]