The global product tanker fleet got older in 2023, as scrapping fell to record lows.
Bimco’s Shipping Number of the Week was 82%, as in the year-over-year drop in product tanker recycling seen over the 12 months and “the lowest level of recycling seen since records began in 1996”, according to the organisation’s chief analyst Niels Rasmussen.
“As a result of low recycling activity and newbuilding deliveries, the average age of product tankers increased by nine months during 2023 to the highest level since 2005,” he added, noting newbuilding deliveries were also at record lows, holding fleet growth to just 2.1%.
Rasmussen said the fleet is getting older, too, with 12% of product tankers 20 years old or more and 39% of them in the 15 to 20 year age range.
Add significant recent ordering and a glut of newbuildings set to hit the water in 2025 and 2026 and Rasmussen expects that scrapping will pick up next year.
Owners placed a litany of orders for product tankers at the end of 2023 and in the early stages of 2024, raising the orderbook-to-fleet ratio above 12%, according to data from Clarksons.
Indonesian owner Pertamina International Shipping placed orders for 15 product tankers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, while the UK’s Union Maritime snagged yard slots for five chemical tankers and two aframax product carriers in Japan and China.
Other buyers included Turkish owner Kurow Shipping signing up for four 115,000-dwt LR2 tanker newbuildings at China’s Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard and Greece’s Advantage Tankers cutting a deal for two 73,400-dwt product carriers.
