Product tanker capacity on order has outstripped crude vessels for the first time, according to Clarksons Research.
The company said a firm appetite for clean carriers saw 16.4m dwt ordered in 2023, a total of 213 vessels.
This is up about 200% year-on-year, supported by strong freight markets, and the highest annual level since 2013.
Overall, owners ordered 33.1m dwt, or 370 tankers, last year, 23% above the 10-year average.
Analyst Florence Wade-Smith said the orderbook now stands at 47m dwt, up 59% year-on-year.
But this is “moderate” in historic terms, equal to only 7% of fleet.
The crude tanker slate represented just 5% of fleet capacity, with product carriers at 12%.
The clean orderbook “has now overtaken the crude orderbook in capacity terms for the first time on record,” Wade-Smith added.
But the delivery schedule is not expected to lead to significant fleet growth in the short-term, she believes.
Clarksons Research is projecting a rise in capacity this year of 0.6% in 2024, followed by 1.2% in 2025
Supply-demand balance still in owners’ favour
“Overall, despite a pick-up in contracting in 2023, the supply-side backdrop continues to support the positive tanker market outlook over the next couple of years,” the analyst said.
Ordering was very limited in 2022, with just 9.9m dwt contracted — the lowest level for more than 25 years.
Product tanker deals at shipyards were mainly focused in the MR sector, with 99 ships of 4.92m dwt added.
LR2s were also popular, with owners ordering 81 vessels of 9.3m dwt.
And LR1s were contracted for the first time since 2018, ending the year with 28 more tankers on order.
Suezmaxes proved the most popular on the crude side, Wade-Smith said.
Shipyards are building another 54 vessels of 8.5m dwt.
VLCC deals increased notably at 18 ships of 5.6m dwt, up from 0.9m dwt in 2022, while aframax ordering was more limited last year. Just eight tankers were contracted.
Pressures remained from limited yard slot availability, Wade-Smith noted, and prices were also high.
Clarksons’ tanker newbuilding price index rose 8% over the year, the highest level since March 2009.
