Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2026)

PORTS & LOGISTICS

LNG carrier "DIAMOND GAS

METROPOLIS" 174,000 cubic meters, under construction at

Hyundai Samho.

Image courtesy Hyundai Samho. ply side. He told call participants, “As you all have likely no-

Smaller Tankers ticed, the VLCC market is demonstrating signi? cant strength.

For smaller tankers, typically hauling re? ned products, the

This strength should positively impact our earnings for the market saw a big push upwards in 2022, and has remained latter part of the fourth quarter. The current freight market healthy, though prone to up and down whipsaws. By 2022, strength is driven by growing demand for seaborne transpor- the orderbook in the product sector had shrunk to a histori- tation of crude oil in combination with increasingly aging and cal low, with some estimates putting tonnage on order at fragmented structure of the ? eet.” around 5% (by carrying capacity) of the existing ? eet. Mar-

In a November, 2025 conference call presentation, Lois ket strength at that time led to more con? dence, and renewed

Zabrocky, CEO of INSW, with a ? eet of 75 tankers (evenly ordering of newbuild vessels. By late 2025, one indicator of split between crude and re? ned product carriers) , in discuss- product tanker hires re? ecting a basket of rates in the Atlan- ing the demand side of the tanker space, told investors, “… tic markets pegged daily earnings at just under $30,000/day, we believe demand fundamentals are solid and continue to a healthy number, but down from a year earlier (end 2024) support a constructive outlook for seaborne transportation. Oil value closer to $40,000/day. demand growth remains healthy at 1 million barrels per day

Listed companies in the “MR” (Medium Range) sector of growth for this year and next. OPEC+ is supplementing 1 include Scorpio Tankers (NYSE: STNG), Torm (Nasdaq: million barrels per day of production growth from outside the TRMD) and Hafnia (NYSE: HAFN), tied to the BW Group, group with their own production increases that we have not a major shipowner. In recent months, TRMD and HAFN, seen the full scope of what could be on the water soon.” both Denmark based, have been in the news with Hafnia

In discussing supply, Zabrocky opined that: “In practicality, (controlling close to 200 product tankers) buying a 14% based on actual ship deliveries, there is a signi? cant number stake in Torm (controlling roughly 90 ships), worth around of removal candidates that were built in the golden age from $300 million, from private equity investor Oaktree Capital. ’04 to 2010. By the time the order book delivers fully in 2029,

After the deal’s closing in late December 2025, Oaktree is nearly 50% of the ? eet will be over 20 years old and likely still holding roughly 25% of TRMD shares re? ecting the excluded from the commercial trade. There are simply not continued presence of private equity (PE) buttressing ship- enough tankers to replace the current aging ? eet.” ping company balance sheets. 40 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • February 2026

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