The scrapping of tanker vessels will gain pace over the next two years as a result of persistent weakness in freight rates as well as the coming into force of the IMO regulation on ballast water, according to global shipping consultancy Drewry.
Panama has become the latest country to accede to the IMO Ballast Water Management (BMW) Convention, bringing the proportion of global shipping tonnage covered by the treaty to 53.28% with 53 contracting parties.
It has been a rollercoaster few months for tanker markets with a two-year long boom tailing off over the summer, but some interesting new factors are coming into play over the medium term.