Exports rose in January on the back of increased sales to Europe, which were up from 2.7 million tonnes in December to 4.8 million tonnes in January.
A strong end to 2018 meant that volumes for the full year totalled 87.4 million tonnes, 96.7% higher than the 44.4 million tonnes exported in 2017. BIMCO said that this is good news for the crude oil tanker sector, with an additional 143 VLCC loads (300,000 dwt) or 287 Suezmax loads (150,000 dwt) needed in 2018 compared to 2017.
