DHT Holdings revealed a slump in vessel earnings in the seasonally slow third quarter and confirmed that it locked in a time charter before the dip.

The New York-listed VLCC owner said 48% of its spot market days have been booked at $45,600 per day during the quarter.

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With time charter and spot deals combined, the vessels earn an average rate of $42,300 per day, with 61% of total revenue days locked in.

The spot market earnings represent a decline from an estimated $52,700 per day in the second quarter.

Overall in the three months that ended at the close of June, DHT estimated that it reeled in $49,100 per day in time charter equivalent earnings, including the $36,400 per day earnings for period charters.

That is down from the second quarter of 2023, when the company reported $56,300 per day in TCE earnings.

In the second quarter of this year, 77.8% of the DHT fleet’s 2,114 revenue days were in the spot market.

It also confirmed that the 317,420-dwt DHT Europe (built 2007) was locked into a one-year charter at $49,500 per day.

TradeWinds reported on Tuesday that brokers had said the ship was booked into a contract at the same rate.

DHT said the ship will trade in the Atlantic basin and serve a European refinery.

Meanwhile, it said the delivery dates for four VLCCs on order in South Korea have been moved forward.

The newbuildings, booked at Hanwha Ocean and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, were expected between April and December 2026. They will now be handed over between February and July of that year.

“The expected delivery has been expedited, hence increasing revenue days in 2026,” the shipowner said.

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