* Average VLCC earnings from Middle East to Asia highestsince 2010 -research head
* VLCC Mideast rates to hold around W68-73 -broker
* VLCC rates from West Africa to hold firm
By Keith Wallis
SINGAPORE Dec 12 (Reuters) - Rates for very large crudecarriers (VLCCs) on key Asian routes are likely to hold firmnext week but are unlikely to continue the surge seen earlierthis week, brokers said.
Freight rates from the Middle East to Japan soared to theirhighest level since Feb. 2011, buoyed by a raft of fixtures byShell, brokers and Reuters chartering data showed.
Average VLCC earnings on the Middle East-Japan route thisyear are at the highest level since 2010, said RalphLeszczynski, head of research at Italian shipbroker BancheroCosta.
"Average earnings on the Middle East-Asia route so far in2014 are $22,000 per day, against $32,000 per day in 2010. Butthis is still way better than the last three years," he toldReuters on Friday
"I expect the VLCC market to stay pretty firm for fixturesin the first 10 days of next month. I see rates holding the linearound 68-73 on the Worldscale measure," a Singapore-based VLCCbroker said on Friday.
Rates soared after Shell fixed three VLCC Middle Eastcargoes at around W73, equivalent to $81,500 per day, and aroundnine points higher than the prevailing charter rate for theroute.
"Rates have edged up considerably and we are now seeing thisyear's final cargoes in the Middle East being concluded andrates could possibly add further," said Norwegian ship brokerFearnley in a weekly note on Wednesday.
Rates from West Africa to China climbed, helped by fixturesfrom Unipec and Shell, Reuters chartering data showed.
At least one charterer resisted owners' attempts to push themarket significantly higher with Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp(CPC) rejecting offers of W80 for a VLCC charter fromthe Middle East to Taiwan this week, the broker said.
Around 125 VLCC charters from the Middle East to Asia hadbeen concluded for December loading. But charterers could holdback January cargoes to take some heat out of the market, thebroker added.
VLCC rates for the benchmark route from the Middle East toJapan climbed to W73 on Thursday compared with W60 a weekearlier.
Rates for West Africa to China rose to W66 on Thursday,against W59 last week, the highest since January.
In other trades, rates for 80,000-tonne Aframax tankers fromSoutheast Asia to East Coast Australia dropped to around W111 onThursday, from W114 last Thursday, continuing a steady fall thatstated on Nov. 25.
Clean tanker rates from Singapore to Japan slipped to W119on Thursday, down from W119.50 a week earlier.
"The market is fairly okay. Rates are steady," said aSingapore-based clean tanker broker on Friday. (Reporting By Keith Wallis; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
