Supertankers break the 200,000 per day barrier – Greek shipowners lead the way

The world’s largest charterers have launched a “rally” to secure free tonnage for the 300,000-ton supertankers that carry 2 million barrels of crude.

The rates are exceeding previous records, both in terms of period charters and in the spot market. They reached 208,000 dollars per day in the spot market for a voyage and 110,000 dollars per day for a 12-month period.

Last week, a Maran Tankers’ tanker reached 166,000 dollars per day for a voyage while the “Nave Galactic” built in 2009 by Navios, owned by Angeliki Frangou, closed at 184,000 per day.

Shortly afterwards, another tanker, the Olympic Leopard, owned by Olympic Shipping & Management (Onassis Foundation), recorded 191,000 dollars per day, while Maria Angelikousi’s “Maran Dione” reached 199,000 per day. The psychological threshold of 200,000 dollars per day was finally broken by DHT’s “DHT Jaguar” with 208,000 dollars per day. However, it later dropped to 130,000 and 124,000 per day.

The premium is also high in 12-month charter agreements. Last week, Okeanis Eco Tankers, owned by the Alafouzos family, reached 91,140 per day. This was followed by the Capital group of Evangelos Marinakis’ Aristotelis II, which was chartered at 100,000 dollars per day for a 12-month period. Yesterday, however, DHT Holdings announced the charter of the 2011-built DHT Redwood at 105,000 per day, (ed., always for a one-year period) and during the day, John Fredriksen’s Frontline is linked to the charter of a 2019-built VLCC at 110,000 dollars per day.

VLCC rates have surged to levels not seen in years, surprising many market participants and reigniting the debate in the tanker industry. What initially looked like a normal recovery has turned into a sharp spike, driven by a combination of supply tightness, geopolitical risk and structural market changes.

A key reason is the significant supply constraints. Shrinking prompt lists in key loading areas means that when charterers seek immediate cargo, there are fewer ships available and the market reacts quickly with higher bids.