Clarksons Just Put Numbers to It
This is the dominant story. Clarksons’ March 2026 Oil & Tanker Trades Outlook shows weighted-average tanker earnings reached $133,735 per day in March. That is the highest level on record and more than four times the 2025 average.
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The Breakdown Is Staggering
VLCC earnings sat around $200,000 per day in late March. Suezmax earnings rose to $330,000 per day and Aframax to $280,000 per day, both at record highs. MR earnings climbed to $59,000 per day, more than three times long-term averages.
What Is Driving These Record Rates?
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell 95% compared with typical levels. This disrupted a route that handles 20% of global oil supply, including 37% of seaborne crude trade and 19% of seaborne products trade.
The Supply Replacement Tailwind
Higher Atlantic loading activity supported crude tanker markets. US crude exports could reach 5 million barrels per day in the coming weeks as the Brent-WTI spread widened to a five-year high.
On the products side, the disruption to Gulf refinery exports has forced longer-haul sourcing of refined products. Clean tanker rates are now three times above seasonal norms.
The Catch: A Bearish Structural Backdrop
Clarksons projected a weak demand-supply balance for 2026 overall. Crude tanker dwt demand is down 0.1% against fleet growth of 3.7%. Product tanker demand is down 1.8% against fleet growth of 6.4%. The moment Hormuz normalizes, the structural backdrop turns bearish.
The TxZen Angle
This is a rate supercycle with a built-in expiration date. The best time to own these stocks may already be passing. Which operators are best positioned to survive the eventual normalization?
To see where each watchlist name is priced relative to its net asset value right now, the April P/NAV scorecard puts the full sector in one place. For investors making sense of how earnings like these feed through to dividends and stock prices, How Tanker Stocks Make Money covers the mechanics.