Crude tanker orders hit record high
VLCC rush drives 2026 contracting to the strongest year ever
Crude tanker ordering has hit its highest level on record, as owners rush to secure VLCC and suezmax capacity.
Industry body BIMCO said crude tanker contracting had reached 60m dwt across 234 ships so far this year, making 2026 the strongest year ever, with 151 VLCCs ordered, more than double the whole of 2025. Shipping analysis manager Filipe Gouveia said high freight rates and the need to replace an increasingly old fleet had both encouraged contracting. VLCCs account for 79% of crude tanker capacity ordered this year, and suezmax bookings have already matched the full-year 2025 total.
The crude tanker orderbook has climbed to 130m dwt, equal to 27% of the existing fleet, with deliveries running through 2030. Veson Nautical counted 183 VLCC contracts in the first half against just 18 a year earlier, pricing newbuild VLCCs at about $132m. Greece has been the most active ordering nation, and Chinese yards account for 82% of crude tanker capacity ordered this year.
The fleet is ageing, at an average of about 14 years, with 22% now more than two decades old. Braemar called the ordering wave troubling but manageable if older tonnage exits, expecting markets to soften over the next year before scrapping accelerates in the second half of 2027.
