November 7, 2025

Something exciting is happening in the world of tanker ships! Many ships that used to carry jet fuel and diesel are now switching to transporting crude oil. Why? Because the money is better! Freight rates—the fees tanks earn for carrying oil—have soared like a rocket, making crude oil transport a hot business. According to ship-tracking data from Signal Ocean, in just the first four days of this month, nine big LR2 tankers, which are large vessels that can carry both refined products and crude oil, switched to carrying crude. Since the start of the year, 35 such switches have happened, showing this is no small trend. Why the big change? Oil producers are pumping out more crude oil, and tough sanctions on countries like Russia and Iran are shaking up global trade. OPEC+, the oil group, and other producers outside it have increased supply. That means lots more crude needs ships to move it to eager buyers worldwide. Georgios Sakellariou, a smart analyst from Signal Maritime, shared his view: "Dirtying-up was bound to happen. What used to be more of an operational consideration for shipowners is now a broader market trend." Here, "dirtying-up" means switching from clean refined fuels to the "dirty" crude oil trade. Earnings tell the story too. Big very-large crude carriers have hit the highest payday rates in years. This cash jackpot has also boosted smaller tankers like Aframaxes that focus on crude. An LR2 that switches to carrying crude can now demand fees similar to Aframax rates. For example, in early September, LR2 tankers briefly earned more than Aframaxes. But today, Aframaxes hit $65,500 a day—almost 70% more than LR2 tankers. That difference makes shipowners very eager to join the crude oil party. However, switching between clean products and crude is not free. Moving from crude back to clean products needs new special coatings on tanks, which cost money. And going from clean to crude means accepting sunk costs because old coatings get damaged. In short, the tanker world is buzzing with this shift. Shipowners are chasing better money, oil flows are growing, and the global oil game is changing fast. All aboard the crude oil express!

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Tags: Tanker Ships, Crude oil, Freight Rates, Shipowners, Oil Production, Sanctions,