Saudi Tanker Giant Bahri Snaps Up Ships as Rates Near $200,000 a Day

Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil shipper provisionally hired at least five supertankers, adding to demand for the giant ships at a time when their booking costs are soaring.

Two of the hires by Bahri, as the National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia is known, were reported on a booking-tracker run by Tankers International. Two more were listed in fixture reports from brokers and a fifth was confirmed by a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The five very large crude carriers are expected to transport barrels from the region to Asia in the coming weeks, according to the fixtures.