The tanker takeover wave

Ownership consolidation within the tanker sector is creating stronger counterparties for oil shippers

The tanker business, with its legacy of family ownership and outsized egos, used to be notoriously averse to consolidation. No more. M&A activity in the tanker space is surging, a trend with significant consequences for oil exporters, refiners and traders. The list of deals is long and getting longer. Last year, Capital Product Partners agreed to merge its tanker fleet with Diamond S Shipping, Navios Midstream was folded into Navios Acquisition, Euronav took over Gener8 Maritime, and BW Tankers announced plans to explore a merger with Hafnia Tankers. The year before, Scorpio Tankers bought Navig8 Product Tankers, DHT acquired the very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet of BW Group, and Tee