Tanker firms batten down the hatches amid overcapacity
A year of survival and consolidation lies ahead, with over-capacity hanging over the oil-shipping industry
Crude-oil tanker rates may have recovered a little towards the end of 2011, but the market remains depressed and vulnerable to slackening global economic growth. That means 2012 is set to be a year of survival and consolidation rather than recovery. Overcapacity in the face of slow and patchy global economic growth ensured that 2011 was another year where fleet utilisation remained limited and slow steaming remained commonplace, against the backdrop of rocketing bunker-fuel prices. But the extent to which tanker rates collapsed in 2011 surprised market watchers. According to the research team at Norway’s Arctic Securities, the day rate for a modern very large crude carrier (VLCC) averaged $2
Also in this section
19 January 2026
Newfound optimism is emerging that a dormant exploration frontier could become a strategic energy play and—whisper it quietly—Europe’s next offshore opportunity
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
