Tanker sales drop in first quarter
- Deals for younger tankers plummet but demand for older tankers remains steady
- Suezmax and aframax segments were exceptions to trend of decreased first-quarter sales
- In dry market, secondhand Japanese bulkers are more in vogue than China-built units
Waning appetite may reflect reaction to geopolitical and regulatory developments, but differs across segments and age categories, according to Greek broker’s research
TANKER sales have slumped noticeably in the first quarter of this year compared with the corresponding period of 2024, according to a leading Greek shipbroker.
Xclusiv Shipbrokers counted 97 tankers sold during the first three months of 2025, versus 126 in last year’s first quarter.
The difference was stark, particularly on the product tanker side, with the number of medium range two deals falling by more than half from 36 to 15 vessels.
By contrast, suezmax sales doubled to 12, and aframax crude and product tanker transactions crept up by four to 27 vessels.
Xclusiv posited the decline “may indicate broader market caution driven by regulatory changes and global economic factors”.
Sales of very large crude carriers dropped by a third to 12, a trend the researchers additionally attributed to “cautiousness around the largest, most operationally complex ships”.
Interestingly, the activity had dropped off only for younger tankers of up to 15 years of age, according to the analysis.
Meanwhile, there was “continuing appetite” for middle-aged and older vessels.
Sales of tankers in the 16- to 20-year-old bracket held steady at 47 over the past three months, while demand for tankers of more than 21 years of age almost doubled to 18.
Deals for South Korea-built tankers declined as well as for China-built tonnage, although the latter may also have suffered from the US proposals to target China-built vessels with a port-call tax.
The number of Japan-built tankers changing hands, however, rose from 18 to 25.
“Overall, the data points to a more fragmented and opaque market,” said Xclusiv.
The number of acquisitions by Chinese and Greek owners, traditionally the leading buyers of secondhand tankers, both fell, to 12 and 11 purchases respectively.
A growing portion of deals featured either an undisclosed buyer or were buyers from “less traditional countries.”
Indian, Norwegian and Vietnamese owners have all entered or re-entered the market in recent weeks, the broker noted.
Notwithstanding the apparent cooling of appetite for younger tonnage, South Korean tanker newbuilding prices for most segments remain 4%-5% higher than April last year, according to Xclusiv.
The main exception was the VLCC market where the average price tag for a new order was given as $128m, about 2% down from this time last year.
Potential US targeting of China’s maritime industries also appeared to be having an effect on the secondhand market for dry bulk carriers, said Xclusiv.
Out of a lower overall volume of transactions, 56% of the bulkers sold were Japanese vessels, compared with a share of 32% for China-built ships.
During the same period last year, Chinese vessels represented 42% of sales.