Poten’s Opinion : The Boom Before The Bust

In most discussions about the future direction of the tanker market, the supply of tonnage (or lack thereof) is one of the key reasons that shipowners are generally optimistic about the next three to five years. Tanker owners are optimistic despite the challenges that are looming in the future such as tightening environmental regulations and peak oil demand. An unusual combination of circumstances, including geopolitical unrest, financial challenges and regulatory uncertainty have created a bullish market environment. In this Weekly Opinion we discuss the main drivers of this optimism.