Top 5 crude tanker charterers in 2024Top 5 crude tanker charterers in 2024

Unipec chartered more than double the number of crude tankers compared to its nearest rival notching up a total of 805 fixtures over the year, more than two a day. Second in the league table was Chevron with 341 fixtures.

Western oil companies took the other slots in the top five, with Chevron followed by Shell, ExxonMobil, and Total (see table a bottom of story).

While Unipec remained in number one slot, Poten noted that its reported cargo volumes and market share dropped slightly for the second year running. This, the broker said, reflected China’s softening economy and an associated slowdown in oil demand growth. However, since most of China’s crude imports are shipped on long-haul trades, Unipec remained number one spot charterer of VLCCs, with around 670 deals, over six times more than any other charterer.

Listen to a podcast on the outlook for shipping markets in 2025

ExxonMobil fixed more spot Suezmax deals than any other charterer, with more than a hundred contracts. Meanwhile Chevron took top slot in the Aframax sector, notching up close to 170 contracts.

Poten noted the entry of the Polish charterer, PKN Orlen, in the top 20 for the first time. The company came in at number sixteen and its arrival reflected the country’s move away from Russian pipelined crude oil to seaborne shipments from the Middle East and the North Sea, amongst others, Poten said. The Polish company did not feature in the top 20 VLCC or Suezmax spot charter rankings but came in at number four in the Aframax sector.

The number of VLCC spot fixtures increased in number last year by 2.3% compared with 2023; Suezmax spot deals were down by 6%; and Aframax contracts rose by 7.3%.