‘Astonishing year’ sees VLCC contracting smash through historical records
MSI28 July 20261 Minute
The first half of 2026 has seen VLCC contracting surge, exceeding previous annual records by a huge margin.
MSI reports 177 VLCCs totalling 54.5m dwt ordered during the first half of 2026, with the VLCC orderbook-to-fleet ratio at around 35% as of June, up from just 2% in 2023.
Even if no further orders had been placed in H2, the H1 2026 figure would still be the highest year for VLCC ordering in history, far exceeding the second highest of 32.6m dwt contracted in 2006. Read more at Allaboutshipping.co.uk.