Tankers Newbuilding Ordering Spree, a 2026 Dominant Trend in Hellenic Shipping News 15/06/2026 N ewbuilding orders in the tanker market, particularly for larger tonnage, has been a notable trend of 2026 so far. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “the Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since late February but despite an unprecedented energy crisis, tanker ordering activity for large carriers has intensified notably this year, especially for VLCCs, the segment that is arguably the most exposed to the extended Hormuz closure. Over 120 VLCCs have been ordered this year, with this number already exceeding the highest annual VLCC order total on record. This adds to already strong investment over the previous two years, taking the VLCC orderbook from around 5% of the existing fleet in early 2024 to 35% today. This ratio is significantly higher when only mainstream vessels are considered, given that one-fifth of the VLCC fleet is already dark/sanctioned”. According to Gibson, “the Suezmax segment has also attracted significant new investment, albeit at a more measured pace than VLCCs. Over 60 tankers have been ordered for the year to date, the second highest since 2015. As with VLCCs, robust investment in Suezmaxes has also been observed in recent years, meaning that this size group has the second highest orderbook, at 30% of the total existing fleet, and much higher if dark/sanctioned ships are excluded from these calculations”. However, “investment in other size groups is lower in comparison to larger sizes; yet again orders for the year to date are also fairly close to total investment seen last year. The orderbook looks much healthier but this is in part a function of a healthy stream of deliveries in 2025 and so far in 2026. At present, MR orders account for 20% of the existing fleet, whilst the Aframax/LR2 orderbook stands at 18%. The Handy and LR1/Panamax orderbook is notably lower but so has been investment in these segments for the past