Shipowners have this year commissioned more than twice the number of tankers than in all of 2025 as they look to keep up with soaring demand sparked by the Middle East conflict.
The $20 billion buying spree, the biggest in at least a quarter century, comes as global conflicts redraw trade routes, including the recent closure of Saudi Arabia’s key East-West Pipeline. In response, buyers have turned to crude produced in the Americas, which must be shipped via long transoceanic voyages.
The shift has sent the cost of leasing a tanker soaring to record highs, with daily rates growing around tenfold in the last year to more than $1 million.
