‘Year of the VLCC’: Biggest tankers take market share as US replaces Russian barrels

Growing demands on the US to replace Russian barrels for the global market could turn 2023 into the year of the VLCC, according to new research from Signal Maritime.

Shifting trade flows have already turned very large crude carriers into the biggest player in the US-to-Europe market in the first quarter of 2023 after lagging smaller aframax and suezmax tankers the previous year.