One month after the International Energy Agency (IEA) readjusted its 2009 global oil demand forecast to up by 1% to 83.3 million barrels per day, the employment of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and suezmax tankers for storage is expected to leap in July.
The IEA said there were indications that oil demand was rising again, especially in China with a surge of 6.5% since 2008, and India, as the global economy slowly recovered from recession.
The IEA also increased the daily volume of oil production and export levels it forecast for this year.
Rising oil production was expected among members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which controls a third of the worlds oil supplies.
Non-OPEC production was falling, which meant more oil would need to be transported on tankers from the Middle East and Africa to the US, Europe and Asia.
The recovery in tanker markets may have already begun. Spot rates for VLCCs have trebled in the last week, from around $11,000 (7,900) per day, seen around 12 June, to hit $40,000 per day for Middle East to Asia routes.
The International Energy Agency said around 30 million barrels of crude stored on tankers was unloaded at terminals during May.
It estimated there were 85 million barrels stored on tankers this month, which could be unloaded at short notice.
