On November 11, Moroccan shipowner Scorpio Tankers announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Hanwha Ocean for the construction of two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The purchase price is $128 million per vessel with deliveries expected in the third and fourth quarters of 2028.
It is understood that the letter of intent for two VLCCs signed with Hanwha Ocean marks Scorpio Tankers’ return to the crude oil tanker newbuilding market after more than a decade, representing the company’s first VLCC order since exiting the crude oil sector in 2014. Back then, Scorpio Tankers sold seven new VLCC orders for approximately $735 million—five of which were built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean), and two by HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
Prior to announcing the order for two VLCCs, Scorpio Tankers had acquired four MR product tankers equipped with scrubbers under construction at Jingjiang Nanyang Shipbuilding. Each vessel is priced at $45 million, with delivery scheduled between the second quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027. Concurrently, the company has agreed to sell four MR product tankers built in 2014 and equipped with scrubbers for $32 million each, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
Emanuele Lauro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented “We have a strong and long-term view of the fundamentals of the crude tanker market, and our investment in DHT reflected that outlook. These VLCC newbuilding agreements, with capital expenditures weighted toward the end of 2027 and beyond, represent a logical and efficient extension of that conviction and position the Company to benefit directly from a constructive crude tanker market.”
According to its official website, Scorpio Tankers is a global provider of maritime services for petroleum products. It currently owns or leases 98 product tankers, including 38 LR2, 46 MR, and 14 Handymax vessels, with an average fleet age of 9.6 years.