Tanker Newbuilding Wave Lifts Orderbook to 10.2% of Fleet as 2029 Slots Tighten
A fresh wave of tanker and bulker contracting pushed 147 newbuilding orders across nine segments into the books in a single week, leaving the global tanker orderbook at 2,395 ships or 10.2% of the existing fleet, with owners paying up for 2029 and 2030 delivery positions.
Orderbook data compiled by New-Ships shows 147 newbuilding contracts across nine segments in week 40 of 2026, the period from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, totalling 3,467,600 dwt. Tankers accounted for 29 orders and 2,087,600 dwt across eight yards and nine owners, bulk carriers for 10 orders and 924,000 dwt, and containerships for 72 units. A parallel industry tally for the week to Oct. 6 counted 83 fresh orders spanning tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, LNG carriers, car carriers, multipurpose tonnage and offshore units, with Chinese yards taking a substantial share and newbuilding prices continuing to edge higher even as lead times stay close to 3.5 years.
The tanker orderbook now stands at 2,395 ships on order, under option or on letter of intent at 153 shipyards for 320 owners, equivalent to 10.2% of the 23,493 tankers in service, with 912 orders recorded over the past 12 months as of Oct. 9. CSSC leads the builder table with 370 units, followed by HD Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering at 189, Hengli Heavy Industries at 181, Jiangsu New Era at 119 and Wuhu Shipyard at 94. Deliveries are scheduled at 149 ships in 2026, 566 in 2027, 626 in 2028, 302 in 2029 and 18 in 2030, concentrating the supply impact in the back half of the decade.
Individual deals show where pricing is clearing. Geneva-based Advantage Tankers confirmed two 114,000 dwt LR2 product tankers at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2029 and the first quarter of 2030, both already fixed on long-term employment with an oil major, and expanded its MR2 programme at Guangzhou Shipyard International from four to six hulls with 2030 deliveries; comparable MR tonnage at that yard has recently been priced at about $45 million per ship, taking the owner's reported orderbook to 22 ships against 28 in operation. Elsewhere in the week, Scorpio Tankers returned to the VLCC sector with two 306,000 dwt units at Hengli at indications near $135 million each for September 2028, X-Press Feeders booked three 157,000 dwt tankers at Penglai Jinglu at roughly $80 million apiece for December 2028, and YZJ Maritime contracted six 114,000 dwt LR2s at Jiangsu Haifeng at about $79.5 million each from March 2029. The wider orderbook has expanded roughly 25% year on year to about 225 million CGT, or 23% of the existing fleet, against 52% at the 2008 peak.