Maritime consultancy Drewry expects crude tanker markets to outperform product tankers in 2026 due to slower crude fleet growth and the potential support from higher inventories, including floating storage.
The outlook was presented at Drewry’s tanker market webinar on 9 December 2025, where Rajesh Verma described 2025 as “a mixed bag”, with crude rates strengthening late in the year while product tanker earnings eased from 2024 highs as new vessels entered service.
Drewry forecasts crude tanker fleet growth of about 2% in 2026 after a sluggish 2025, compared with almost 6% growth for product tankers in 2025 and a further 6% expected in 2026, driven by a heavy delivery schedule.
Product tanker deliveries nearly tripled in 2025 versus the prior two years and are set to exceed 300 units in 2026.
On demand, Drewry assumes oil demand growth of about 0.7% in 2026, similar to 2025, but highlighted uncertainty around OPEC production policy, potential inventory builds and floating storage, changes in Russian trade patterns affecting tonne-miles, and the pace of recovery in Suez Canal traffic, which could reverse longer voyages that had supported product tanker utilisation.
Drewry also pointed to market signals showing weaker product tanker asset prices alongside more resilient crude tanker values, while its equity indices showed stronger year-to-date gains for crude tanker equities than for product tankers in 2025.
Drewry Shipping Consultants is a United Kingdom–based maritime research and advisory firm that provides market intelligence, forecasts and consultancy services across shipping sectors, including energy transportation, ports and logistics, and maritime finance.