Crude oil freight rates on major routes fell to a 2010 low this week due to a rise in the number of unchartered vessels in the Middle East and a lull in Asia trading with China on holiday. The world's benchmark Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) export route from the Middle East to Japan tumbled to a fresh 2010 low of W45.94 (Worldscale points), down from W47.23 last week.

Worldscale points are a percentage of a nominal rate or flat rate for more than 320,000 specific routes.

'We are approximately halfway into the October fixture programme and the prospects of a rebound near term are growing dimmer by the day,' said Martin Korsvold, shipping analyst at Pareto Securities.

About 114 vessels were in the Middle East available for work, just one ship short of matching the most number of unemployed ships this year reached two months ago, he said.

Only 23 VLCC fixtures were reported last week, down from 29 in the same period last year. VLCC rates from the Gulf to the United States eased to W31.46 from W32.73 last week.

Rates for smaller aframax tankers from the Caribbean to the US Gulf declined to W93 from W95.91 last week.

A week-long strike at France's top oil port has blocked dozens of crude vessels from supplying major refineries, but it has not affected rates.

'Owners have been pinning their hopes on the rapidly deteriorating strike situation in the French ports but despite having been on strike for the whole week, this has had no impact whatsoever,' said broker firm EA Gibson in a report.

VLCC rates from West Africa to the US Gulf slipped to W48 from W48.58 last week.

Baltic Exchange figures showed crude oil tanker rates from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean climbed to W88.25 from W83.54 last week. Cross Mediterranean tanker rates slipped to W86.27 from W86.48 last week.