LR2 product tankers are set to overtake MRs as the year wears on, Vortexa predicts.
Ioannis Papadimitriou, an analyst at the shipping and energy analytics platform, said demand for MRs has slowed down in southeast Asia and in the Atlantic, while global LR2 utilisation has rallied to its highest levels since September 2021.
“The combination of increasing demand for long-haul trades towards the end of the year and low deliveries will support LR2s from the end of the year and onwards, which are poised to take the spotlight from MRs going forward,” Papadimitriou said in a note published on Thursday.
