With the energy markets in flux and so many macro-economic unknowns colouring daily decisions there is an overwhelming need to make sense of it all. Well, don’t worry, we have you covered — take a read through our expert analysis of the current tanker spike and then book yourselves into a selection of the Lloyd’s List Outlook events coming up

Unipec, the world’s largest dirty tanker spot charterer, appears to have halted chartering vessels that have had any business links with Venezuela, including port calls, within a 12-month period. The move, which matches the same decision by ExxonMobil last week, comes amid already tightened tonnage and 11-year tanker rate highs

Novatek’s Arctic LNG export facility is currently serviced by Cosco-affiliated vessels

Average time charter equivalent earnings for the fleet of some 779 very large crude carriers have tripled since the September 25 US sanctions on two subsidiaries of the Chinese shipping giant Cosco

Suezmax rates are averaging the highest in more than four years, while  very large crude carriers are attracting record sums on the US Gulf-Asia route

With heightened geopolitical risk and improved market sentiments, brokers expect the market to remain strong throughout the winter and into 2020

The shift to China from Europe comes amid intensifying contagion fears among banks, class societies, charterers and bunker suppliers about exposure to unilateral US sanctions on Iran because of Cosco’s ambiguous and opaque ownership structure

Cosco Dalian, which is subject to the US sanctions imposed last week, holds a major stake in China LNG Shipping — the business unit co-owning with Teekay LNG liquefied natural gas carriers that are on long-term charters to Yamal LNG

Last week’s US sanctions on two Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation subsidiaries sent shockwaves through the market, triggering tightened supply and opportunities for the more nimble players. But amid the noise and political fireworks let’s not forget the crew or the longer term projects of decarbonising our future and creating a more balanced industry

Last week the tanker market was thrown into chaos as oil traders sought alternative ships and insurers withdrew cover because of the US government’s Office of Foreign Assets and Control blacklisting six companies for allegedly shipping US-sanctioned Iranian crude and gas

Teekay assesses impact of sanctions on the $2.1bn fleet of ice-breaking LNG carriers it co-owns with China LNG

Very large crude carriers could benefit from replacement demand, although the recent spike in freight rates may melt away in the longer term