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CITIC Securities: Tanker Leaders’ Valuations and Profits May Hit Record High in Q4 2026

CITIC Securities said in a research note that VLCC freight rates are set to climb further as Hormuz oil exports recover to pre-war levels, cargo volumes surge and the available vessel list stays limited, with strength spilling over into Suezmax. Saudi Arabia’s wider discounts keep stimulating cargoes, STS transfers are now the main delivery method, and rising ship attacks plus repair difficulties are further eroding effective VLCC capacity. The brokerage expects tanker leaders’ valuations and profits to reach record highs in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Original source

AI take

The call rests less on demand optimism than on a supply-side squeeze: attacks, repair bottlenecks and STS reliance are quietly removing effective VLCC capacity, so freight strength could outlast the export recovery that triggered it. That distinction matters for tanker equities, where record valuation and profit claims are being tied to a 2026 horizon rather than the current spot move. The open question is whether those capacity losses prove permanent or reverse once repair capacity normalizes, and whether Suezmax spillover broadens the earnings base beyond VLCC names.

Generated by AI for reference only.

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