Shadow fleet demand drives secondhand tanker buying

Tanker operators focusing on sanctioned trades have continued to acquire aged ships in secondhand markets this year to renew their fleets while sending some of their oldest ships to scrapyards, according to several tanker analysts, industry participants and ship tracking data. In recent years, Russia, Iran and Venezuela have partnered with little-known operators to assemble a large shadow fleet to maintain overseas oil sales, despite tightening Western sanctions. In a recent note, BRS said 262 tankers aged over 15 years were sold in the first 10 months of this year, of which 130 ships were sanctioned. Vintage tankers continue to be the standout driver of sale-and-purchase activity, reflecting the ongoing appetite for older ships capable of operating within or adjacent to sanctioned trades, the shipbroker said. Based on research by Breakwaves Advisors and Braemar, mainstream shipowners have sold 28 VLCCs into the shadow fleet this year, and the sanctioned countries will need more of the large tankers going forward, as per a report.

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