Product tankers can secure even more employment as well as improved daily rates when the refineries resume the work after a break. Meanwhile, the high margins at refineries makes it attractive to maintain production with the highest average prices within the past five years, notes Morgan Stanley in an analysis of the tanker market.

According to the bank, the product tanker rates have been stable at USD 20,000 for some time, while the activity - as measured by the number of shipments - has increased by nine percent in MR over the past four weeks. The growing demand is a result of factors such as the traffic out of Northern Europe, which increased in November by 45 percent, the bank writes in the analysis.