Product tanker segment to see highest number of newbuild deliveries since 2009

Deliveries of newbuild product tankers will reach their highest level since 2009 this year, according to international shipping organisation BIMCO.

The 2025 will see about 12m dwt delivered, up 256% compared to last year’s deliveries, and the second highest on record, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO Niels Rasmussen noted.

The increase follows a surge in the contracting of new ships during 2023 and 2024 when 551 product carriers with a capacity of 38.7m dwt were ordered, BIMCO data shows.

“The spike in contracting has increased the orderbook from 10.6m dwt at the beginning of 2023 to 41.2m dwt at the start of 2025,” Rasmussen said, adding that during the same period, the orderbook-to-fleet ratio rose from 6% to 22%.

Analysts at Greek brokers Intermodal estimate a total of 179 product tankers exceeding 10,000 dwt to enter service this year—a significant increase compared to the 49 vessels delivered in 2024, which totalled 3.37m dwt—the lowest number of product tanker deliveries in dwt terms since 2001, according to Yiannis Parganas, Intermodal’s head of research department.

BIMCO’s analysis reveals the MR segment attracted the most orders, with 278 ships contracted during the last two years, while the LR2 segment saw the most capacity ordered with 19.2m dwt. The two segments will likewise dominate delivery in 2025, with 98 MRs and 52 LR2s anticipated.
 
Rasmussen noted, however, that of the ships scheduled for delivery in 2025, despite nearly 75% contracted during the last two years, only 7% will be capable of using alternative fuels, while another 12% will be readied for an eventual retrofit. 

He added that the past five years have witnessed a slowdown in ship recycling, with the average ship age increasing by more than 2.5 years since the beginning of 2020, and that continued low activity in this sector would keep the older tankers running and slow down the renewal and decarbonisation of the fleet.

“The low recycling activity during the past five years has created an overhang of older ships,” Rasmussen said, adding that currently, 10% of the fleet’s capacity is comprised of ships older than 20 years and that continued Russian sanctions and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea could further delay the retirement of the oldest ships.

BIMCO estimates product tanker fleet expansion will be between 5% and 6% this year, while a decline in oil demand growth will likely result in vessel demand growth ending lower.