Tanker freight behaviour diverges after the conflict shock in International Shipping News 28/04/2026 The conflict has triggered a sharp repricing across tanker freight, but the response has not been uniform. Crude and clean tankers both rallied as disruption risk centred on the Middle East Gulf forced charterers and owners to reassess exposure to the Strait of Hormuz. However, the underlying drivers are now diverging. Dirty freight is increasingly showing the characteristics of a disruption led rally that is becoming more selective, while clean freight continues to look more structurally supported by tighter effective vessel supply and a deeper reshuffling of trade flows. Crude rally fragments as Atlantic tonnage rebuilds Crude tanker freight reacted first and most aggressively. The VLCC market was the natural focal point, given its central role in lifting mainstream crude exports from the Middle East Gulf. As geopolitical risk intensified, owners priced in a stronger risk premium and charterers moved quickly to secure Gulf cargoes. This created a sharp repricing in Middle East Gulf linked earnings, with VLCCs bearing the most direct impact from any perceived threat to Hormuz transits. That strength then spilled into Suezmax and Aframax markets. Buyers and traders seeking replacement crude cargoes turned increasingly to the Atlantic basin, lifting demand for smaller crude tankers. Elevated time spreads also reinforced the need for prompt loaders, while limited VLCC availability encouraged some charterers to split stems or secure smaller parcels on Suezmaxes and Aframaxes. In effect, disruption at the top of the crude tanker market cascaded down the fleet, tightening availability and pushing dirty freight higher across vessel classes. However, that support on rates for Suezmax and Aframax was short lived. Suezmax and Aframax rates have already corrected back towards pre conflict levels, exposing the limits of the initial rally. Once the first wave of urgent fixing passed, demand for smaller crude tankers softened. At the same time, Atlantic basin availability loosened as more ships ballasted into the region in search of employment. LR2s switching into dirty trading added further competition at the margin, increasing the supply of Aframax equivalent tonnage. The result is that the earlier tightness in smaller crude tanker segments has faded quickly, leaving rates vulnerable to correction. The crude tanker basket shows a clear regional split in how freight has priced. The strongest gains are concentrated on routes loading from the Middle East Gulf and Pacific, where freight continues to carry a clear risk premium linked to Hormuz uncertainty, potential delays and tighter forward availability. Atlantic originated crude freight has edged higher, but the increase has been marginal compared with the stronger repricing seen out of the Middle East Gulf. Demand for alternative Atlantic barrels has offered some support, but this has been largely absorbed by a sizeable build in ballast tonnage. With more VLCCs repositioning towards Atlantic employment, vessel availability has improved in the basin, limiting owners’ ability to push rates meaningfully higher. Clean freight stays resilient as longer haul employment tightens supply Clean freight has followed a different trajectory. Rates have also moved sharply higher across vessel classes, but unlike crude freight, the clean market has shown far less correction. The key difference is that clean tanker