Tanker rates for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) are highly sensitive to oil transportation volumes, which in turn, are a function of global oil production and consumption. And so it follows that the lower the demand for oil, the lower the demand for tankers.
However, a special case developed in the spring when oil demand plummeted as economies worldwide were shut down to control the spread of COVID-19. The resulting oil price collapsed created a demand for tankers as temporary floating storage facilities, and tanker rates spiked. That was an unexpected boon for tanker owners,