Record fleet of ships heading to load oil in US keeps growing

The record number of supertankers sailing toward the shores of the US is getting ever larger. 

There are 51 ships headed to the nation’s ports over the next three months. That’s the most in at least six years, climbing by three from the previous week’s record. About 80% of the vessels are empty, indicating that they intend to pick up cargoes in the US. 

The growing volume comes after US crude exports surged this year to a record. Overseas shipments have averaged 4.1 million barrels a day, based on the Energy Information Administration’s weekly data, up from 3.5 million in 2022. That’s helped offset some of the supply losses arising from output curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. 

Earnings for giant tankers capable of hauling 2 million barrels of crude jumped last month, in part led by higher demand for shipments from the US Gulf. They climbed above $30,000 a day, the highest since June, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London.

Earlier this week, London-based shipbroker EA Gibson said the glut of ships also included vessels heading to the region on a speculative basis, without any cargo bookings. Stronger winter demand could mean higher earnings for those tankers when they reach the US, according to Svetlana Lobaciova, a principal analyst at the firm.