Does Size Still Matter?

1st March 2024:What is the outlook for VLCC demand in the coming years? For many years, VLCCs have been regarded as the “bellwether” of the tanker market. Improvements in the market would frequently start with VLCCs and given their dominant position in the Middle East crude oil export trades, the fortunes of OPEC and the VLCC market would often be tied. The size of these vessels, carrying around 2 million barrels of oil, offers charterers of VLCCs unparallelled economies of scale. Trade disruptions as a result of conflicts or geopolitical tension in the Middle East would frequently boost VLCC rates more than those of the smaller crude oil tankers. However, this pattern has been somewhat disrupted since the end of the pandemic. Suezmax and Aframaxes tankers have outperformed VLCCs on a relative basis since 2021. There are unique circumstances and temporary factors that can explain this unusual situation. The more interesting questions is: What is likely to happen in the future? That will be the topic of this Weekly Tanker Opinion.g years? Please fill out below form to continue read.