The tanker orderbook in relation to the active fleet has climbed to its highest level in five years, driven by a spectacular increase in newbuilding investment since the second half of 2022.
According to data from Xclusiv Shipbrokers, a total of 751 tankers with a capacity of 66.3 million DWT were under construction at the end of April, while the existing fleet consists of 7,594 vessels with a capacity of 691.5 million DWT.
The orderbook corresponds to 9.9% of the fleet in terms of vessels and 9.6% in terms of tonnage (DWT). The last time the orderbook exceeded 9.6% in DWT terms was in May 2019 (9.64%).
The most popular ship type in recent shipbuilding deals is LR2 tankers that carry oil products. Xclusiv Shipbrokers data shows that the orderbook/fleet ratio for product tankers (of 10,000 DWT and above) today stands at 15.1% on a DWT basis, the highest level since April 2016 (15.5%).
Regarding crude tankers, the tonnage under construction corresponds to 7.4% of the existing fleet in terms of DWT. This is the highest performance since January 2022 (about 8%).
One in three tankers is Greek-owned
Greek shipowners are once again the leaders in the tanker market. More specifically, of the 751 tankers currently being built at the yards, 222, i.e. 30%, belong to shipping companies of Greek interests.
