- Greek owner DHT has ordered four VLCCs for delivery between April and December 2026, with options for four additional vessels by mid-2027, citing early delivery slots and competitive pricing.
- DHT notes that their current order book represents less than 3% of the existing fleet, with nearly 50% projected to be over 15 years old by the end of 2026.
- Dynacom Tankers has ordered two additional Suezmax tankers from New Times Shipyard, bringing its total orders to 41 vessels.
- Consort Tankers and Patria Nusaegara have also increased tanker orders, while Okeanis Eco Tankers’ executives identify four tailwinds driving the tanker market.
- Houthi Red Sea attacks affect 10% of global crude trade, with significant product trade impact, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict contributes substantially to tonne-mile trade.
Greek Owner’s New Tanker Orders And Market Insights
Greek owner adds more tankers to its order book; executives identify tailwinds driving short-term earnings.
DHT has entered into agreements to build four 320,000-dwt VLCCs for delivery between April and December 2026, with two to be constructed at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and two at Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), in South Korea.
The average price is US$128.5M and includes options for four additional vessels that can be delivered during the first half of 2027.
DHT president and chief executive Svein Moxnes Harfjeld, stated, “We have secured very early and competitive delivery slots to build the most efficient ships of the highest quality the market has to offer.”
Expanding Fleet Orders Across The Industry
DHT stated the current order book with the supply of new VLCCs equals less than 3% of the existing fleet and the fleet is rapidly aging: by the end of 2026, close to 50% of the fleet is projected to be older than 15 years of age and more than 20% will be older than 20 years.
George Procopiou’s Dynacom Tankers is reported to have ordered two more Suezmax from New Times Shipyard, bringing the number of tankers the company has on order to 41 vessels, compared to a current fleet of 47 tankers.
Singapore-based Consort Tankers, which has one 4,200-dwt tanker in the water, is reported by BRL to have added three more 6,500-dwt methanol bunkering vessels to six vessels already on order at China Merchants (Jinling).
Indonesia-based Patria Nusaegara, which has no tankers in its fleet, is reported to have engaged Japanese builder Usuki to build two 9,000-dwt chemical/products carriers for delivery in September and December 2026.
Tailwinds Impacting The Tanker Market
Okeanis Eco Tankers chief executive Aristidis Alafouzos and chief financial officer Iraklis Sbarounis identified four tailwinds driving the tanker market in Capital Link’s recent Corporate Presentation Series.
Shifting production and demand patterns: the increase in oil production from regions such as the US, Guyana, and Brazil, coupled with rising demand in areas like Europe due to geopolitical events, has led to longer voyages and increased tonne-miles, bolstering the tanker market.
Red Sea attacks and rerouteing: incidents in the Red Sea have compelled ships, including crude and product tankers, to divert around the Cape of Good Hope instead of using the Suez Canal, significantly extending voyages and tonne-miles, particularly impacting Suezmax tankers.
Changes in trading strategies: owners have adopted new strategies such as loading Suezmaxes in the Arabian Gulf to travel West and VLCCs circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope, optimizing efficiency, and enabling co-loading of cargoes, contributing to market strength.
Supply Dynamics And Market Impact
Tight supply dynamics and sanctions: reduced shipyard capacity, hesitation among owners to invest in new vessels, and US sanctions affecting tanker fleets have resulted in historically low order books, creating tight supply dynamics that support the tanker market’s strength.
The Houthi’s Red Sea attacks are affecting around 10% of global crude trade and approximately 15% of product trade passes through the region Clarkson Research Services (CRS) estimates the resulting uplift to tonne-miles as tankers head around the Cape of Good Hope at around 1.5% for crude and 4.0% for products; notable, but less significant than the demand uplift resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict (which added about 9.0% to crude tonne-mile trade, and around 14.0% to products across 2022-23).
CRS estimates that LR1 product tankers have been the main beneficiaries with earnings on the MEG-UKC route rising to US$129,503 per day in late January 2024, compared with crude tanker earnings remaining around US$50-60,000 per day since December 2023.
Fostering Collaboration For Environmental Innovation
The Liberian Registry innovation and energy transition team’s mission is to promote the integration of new and existing solutions to aid in energy transition efforts.
This is made possible by closely collaborating with shipyards, design companies, classification societies, engine manufacturers, shipowners and managers, and other key stakeholders.
“We take great pride in launching our innovation and energy transition team. This initiative reflects our dedication to service excellence and developing innovative techniques by collaborating with our partners to reach net-zero goals,” said Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry chief executive Alfonso Castillero.
Promoting Environmental Responsibility
The Port of Rotterdam has established a specialized Ship Waste module program to verify ships meet new environmental performance criteria enacted this year.
Recent EU regulations require member state ports to grant discounts on waste fees to ships that can demonstrate reduced waste volumes and sustainable management practices.
Independent verification through the Green Award allows ships meeting these exacting new voluntary standards to benefit from waste fee discounts of up to 32% when calling at accredited ports.
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Source: rivieramm
