Lloyd’s List: Shell Leads List as Top Dirty Tanker Charterer

“Oil giant Shell has again emerged as the world’s top charterer of crude tankers for the fourth consecutive year, taking 725 ships in 2010, or 7% of nearly 9,200 recorded spot fixtures. Analysis from New York-based tanker broker and consultancy Poten & Partners to identify the world’s top 20 crude tanker charterers found that Shell, BP and Total held on to the top three positions in 2010. The trio is responsible for 17% of the 9,189 recorded fixtures, which is estimated to represent about 10%-20% of market activity. BP fixed 427 tankers and Total 426, followed by oil trader Vitol with 413 and Chinese oil giant Unipec with 399.”