LONDON (Bloomberg) - Rental income from aframax tankers that haul 650,000-barrel cargoes of crude oil jumped fivefold this month as extra Iraqi consignments and rising delays in Europe cut ship supply, the biggest owner of the carriers said.

Extra Iraqi crude cargoes are being pumped to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Bjorn Moller, CEO of Hamilton, Bermuda-based Teekay Corp. said by phone on Wednesday. There's been a "rebound" in North Sea output, ice is delaying vessels in the Baltic, and carriers passing Turkey's Bosporus strait are also being held up, he said.

"What's interesting is the combination of these relatively minor factors was enough to create such a significant increase in rates," he said. "It's obviously encouraging that you are seeing such a fine balance in the market that small factors can create a significant rate spike."

Global rental income from aframaxes gained to $40,485 a day so far this month, from $7,656 a day on February 26, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Such vessels are mainly used to haul cargoes around the same continent, though they can also be deployed to take cargoes across oceans.

Very large crude carriers shipping two million barrel cargoes on the industry's benchmark route from Persian Gulf ports to Japan are earning $39,502 a day, according to the Baltic Exchange. The last time aframaxes made more than VLCCs on the route was in July.