2021 ends with tanker market in dire straits.

The long-expected year-end recovery in dirty tanker spot freight rates failed to materialize in December, as lockdowns at the end of the year and softer Chinese buying limited tonnage demand, OPEC said this week, in its latest monthly report. On average, VLCCs and Aframax slipped 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively, m-o-m in December. Suezmax managed a 7 percent gain over the month before, but remained well below pre-COVID-19 levels. For the year 2021, average VLCC and Suezmax spot freight rates witnessed their worst performance going...