“So far this year, crude tanker newbuilding contracting has reached 60m deadweight tonnes (DWT) across 234 ships, driven by a surge in orders for Very Large Crude Tankers (VLCCs). This already makes
“So far this year, crude tanker newbuilding contracting has reached 60m deadweight tonnes (DWT) across 234 ships, driven by a surge in orders for Very Large Crude Tankers (VLCCs). This already makes 2026 the year with the highest crude tanker contracting on record. High freight rates and the need to replace an increasingly older fleet have both encouraged contracting,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.
Orders for new VLCCs are already more than double than in the whole of 2025. A total of 151 VLCCs have been ordered so far this year, accounting for 79% of contracted crude tanker capacity. Most of the remaining new orders consist of ships in the suezmax segment, and these have already reached the capacity ordered during the whole of 2025.
“The total crude tanker order book has now hit 130m DWT, the highest on record and equivalent to 27% of the current crude tanker fleet. With deliveries scheduled through 2030, new capacity entering the market is set to gradually increase until at least 2028. That would mark a sharp acceleration from the less than 10m DWT delivered annually over the past three years,” says Gouveia.
The increase in ship deliveries is expected
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
