Tankers

Overview

The tanker sector is the second largest segment of the fleet in terms of number of large ships, if collectively counted, including; Crude Oil tankers (8,445 ships), Chemical tankers (6,259 ships) and LNG carriers (2,258 ships). Deadweight tonnage stands at 305,313,000 dwt, 51,411,000 dwt and 88,064,000 dwt respectively or just under 20% of the total tonnage of the fleet. This Crude Oil comprises seven main segments, ranging from SR/handy tankers in the 25,000-39,000 dwt range right up to ULCC of 320,000dwt and above.

Crude Oil Tankers
Ultra large crude carrier: 320,000 dead-weight tons (dwt) and above
Very large crude carrier: 200,000–319,999 dwt
Suezmax crude tanker: 125,000–199,999 dwt
Aframax/long range 2 crude tanker: 85,000–124,999 dwt
Panamax/long range 1 crude tanker: 55,000–84,999 dwt
Medium range tanker: 40,000–54,999 dwt
Short range/handy tanker 25,000–39,000 dwt

Out of the 1,665 newbuild vessels delivered in 2023, oil tankers accounted for 12.1% of the ship gross tonnage delivered making this the third largest newbuild segment after container and bulkers ships, followed by LNG carriers. The tanker fleet is similar to the bulker fleet as a comparatively young fleet, with around two thirds of vessels under 14 years. When it comes to tonnage scrapped in 2023, LNG carriers were 8.3% of the total, followed by Oil tankers (5.6%) and Chemical tankers (1.5%).

Sources: UNCTAD calculations, based on data from Clarksons Research Shipping Intelligence Network, Review of Maritime Transport 2024 as of 01 January 2024 (109,000 ships over 100GT)
Global merchant fleet – number of ships by type | Statista (60,000 ships), 2023

Wind Propulsion Development & Forecasts

The Tanker segment has been identified as a key segment for retrofitting and newbuild installations of wind propulsion systems, currently based on existing hull designs though there is room for further development and optimisation here. The various tanker segments pose different challenges to Bulk carriers when installing any deck equipment with stricter fire and safety restrictions along with identifying clear areas of deck space for foundation work on retrofits, whereas newbuilds enable slight design adjustments and the market has seen some ‘wind-ready’ notations. The oil tanker and chemical segments have been experiencing a growth in interest in installations which is slated to grow further as installation experience and costs continue to fall.

Estimates made in the CE Delft led report delivered to EU DG Clima in Nov 2016 estimated that by 2030 there could be up to 2,500 wind installed tankers in the 5,400-88,000 dwt segments with continued gentle rise thereafter up to 2050, or approximately 67% of the fleet at this size. [Note – This forecast was developed prior to the COVID pandemic and subsequent logistical disruption, and thus should be viewed with an element of 1-2 year lag time]

Source: Study on the analysis of market potentials and market barriers for wind propulsion technologies for ships, CE Delft, November 2016

Wind Propulsion Installations
As of the end of Q3 2024, there were nine tankers installed with 19 wind propulsion system units, along with six additional wind-ready vessels. These 15 vessels are spread across a variety of segments and sizes ranging from VLCC oil tankers, through to smaller chemical/product tankers and two CO2 carriers. These ships collectively account for 1,183,000 dwt of the fleet with a surge in recent orders and some additional installations to be added shortly.