Tankers have gone from multi-decade lows to near historical highs over the past 12 months, with a number of records being broken.
Average tanker earnings are now on track to have remained above $40,000 a day for eight months, the longest stretch on record, according to data from Clarksons Research.
Likewise, Clarkson Research’s secondhand tanker price index has recorded its sharpest ever upwards movement over the last year, rising by 52% to the highest level since 2008.
For comparison, between October 2019 and April 2020, when tanker earnings averaged $44,000 a day, the same Clarksons index rose by only 3%, partly due to the short-term nature of supporting market drivers.
The incredible bull-run tankers have enjoyed in the 12 months since Russia invaded Ukraine has seen the stocks of many listed tanker firms quadruple in value, while prices for vintage tankers have hit historic highs as well as sales volumes.
“The past 12 months have highlighted once again how disruption is good from the viewpoint of shipowners,” commented Dr Roar Adland, a professor at the Norwegian School of Economics. “If you mess with an extremely efficient market by introducing constraints – either self-imposed or political sanctions – then the resulting supply-side inefficiencies and freight rate hikes can be substantial.”
