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Oil Companies Scramble for Ships to Secure Transport
DHT CEO Cites Iran War, Sinokor Buying Spree
Key Takeaways:
- DHT Holdings CEO Svein Moxnes Harfjeld says oil companies are rushing to secure tankers to ensure they can transport barrels.
- The industry has been upended by the Iran war and Sinokor's buying spree of the largest vessels.
- Industry leaders gathered in Athens for the Capital Link Maritime Leaders Summit for a Poisidonia event.
Oil companies are rushing to secure giant tankers to ensure they can transport barrels after the industry was upended by war and the largest vessel-buying spree in a generation, the head of a shipowner said.
DHT Holdings Inc.’s customers are “all scrambling for security in transportation,” after a South Korean tycoon went on a bumper spree of purchases that helped boost rates earlier in the year, CEO Svein Moxnes Harfjeld said.
“This comes at a time when we see some commercial consolidation in the VLCC space,” he said at the Capital Link Maritime Leaders Summit for a Posidonia event in Athens, referring to very large crude carriers. “Although this has a positive impact in the market, not all customers appreciate and like this impact.”
Since the buying spree by South Korea’s Sinokor group, the rise in tanker earnings has been compounded by the Iran war, which has disrupted trade flows and geographically stretched out the global fleet.
Benchmark tanker earnings began the conflict near $200,000 a day and have since almost doubled, though there’s an industry debate about the true value of that market.
Other officials at tanker companies said on a panel at the Athens event that they expect to see a longer-term rerouting of global oil flows as Asian importers seek to become less dependent on shipments from the Middle East.
Interesting Discussion of the panel “Tanker Markets in Motion: Energy Shifts, Trade Realignment, & Investment Strategy”
at the 10th Capital Link Maritime Leaders Summit – Greece
Moderator: Mr. Keith Billotti, Partner – Seward & Kissel LLP
Panelists:
• Mr. Antonis Kanellakis,… pic.twitter.com/cWUpeEQlMv — Capital Link (@CapitalLink) June 1, 2026
“We are going to see a rebuilding of global crude oil flows once this situation normalizes,” said Pankaj Khanna, CEO of Heidmar Maritime Holdings Corp. “That means more will come from the Atlantic into the Asian markets.”
