Petrobras rises up the tanker rankings as Unipec's grip loosens

Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has emerged as one of the biggest gainers in the crude tanker market in the first half of the year, as disruption in the Middle East shifted tanker demand toward Atlantic Basin crude flows. Newly published chartering data shows that while Unipec retained its position as the largest reported dirty spot charterer with 244 fixtures, its dominance in the very large crude carrier segment eased, with its fixture count in that class falling from 317 a year earlier to 217.

Petrobras moved in the opposite direction, lifting its VLCC fixture count from 52 to 73, a 40% increase, and climbing from sixth to second place in the overall dirty tanker charterer ranking. That placed it ahead of several other oil majors by cargo volume, beaten only by Unipec.

The broader slowdown in tanker activity was attributed to the Middle East conflict, which effectively removed the Arabian Gulf from the spot market for around four months, and to lower Chinese crude imports following the disruption, which weighed on demand for Middle East cargoes.