Trafigura expands owned VLCC fleet for less exposure to time charters in International Shipping News 05/06/2026 Trafigura is set to operate more VLCCs under its ownership in bids to meet growing transport demand while reducing exposure to period charter markets, where rates could stay elevated amid consolidation and evolving geopolitics, according to the trading house’s top shipping executive. Andrea Olivi, global head of shipping at Trafigura, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that owning a certain portion of the company’s fleet — which grew to a record size of 500 ships recently — would allow it to meet internal and external shipping requirements more cost-efficiently. “Trafigura’s shipping volumes are increasing, but we’re also noticing an even bigger increase in cargoes and contracts from third-party companies — who realize that, thanks to our scale, we can offer unique advantages and economies of scale when it comes to freight,” Olivi said in a recent interview. “This applies not only to oil but also dry, gas and, in a not-too-distant future, container freight forwarding.” “We want to ensure that, going forward, we can continue to maintain a scale that allows us to service internal trading activity, alongside a growing number of external counterparties.” The trader, one of the world’s largest, reported a crude trade volume of 177.8 million metric tons in its fiscal year 2025 (October 2024-September 2025), up from 156.4 million mt in the prior year. A significant proportion of Trafigura’s fleet transports are third-party cargoes, according to Olivi. The company operates a mix of deep-sea oil tankers, small tankers, LPG/LNG and dry bulk carriers. With more refineries, oil suppliers and receivers dredging ports worldwide to expand their berths to accommodate VLCCs, the shipping executive said this class of ships would be most capable of optimizing Trafigura’s trade operations and reducing unit transport costs and emissions. “But we need to manage them, a