The tanker sale and purchase market recorded a sharp increase in activity during the first seven months of 2026, with transactions rising 53% compared with the same period last year, according to Xclusiv Shipbrokers.

A total of 365 tankers changed hands between January and July, up from 239 vessels in the corresponding period of 2025. Activity was concentrated in the opening months of the year, with January accounting for 88 transactions, or 24% of the total. Although the pace subsequently moderated through the second quarter and into July, monthly volumes generally remained above their 2025 levels.

VLCC and ULCC transactions represented the largest share of the market. The segment recorded 83 sales, equivalent to almost 23% of total tanker deals and substantially higher than the 31 transactions reported during the same period last year.

Xclusiv attributed much of this increase to the acquisition campaign associated with the Sinokor–MSC alliance, which it estimated acquired between 60 and 70 VLCCs over a relatively short period. The scale of that buying programme altered the dynamics of the VLCC sale and purchase market and contributed significantly to the overall rise in tanker transactions.

MR2 tankers ranked second with 80 sales, representing 22% of the total. Small tankers followed with 51 transactions, while 46 Suezmaxes and 41 Aframax/LR2 vessels changed ownership. Aframax/LR2 activity was unchanged from the corresponding 2025 period, whereas most other major segments expanded.

Panamax/LR1 transactions recorded one of the strongest increases outside the VLCC market, rising from nine vessels in 2025 to 31 in 2026. The figures indicate that purchasing interest extended across both large crude carriers and several medium-sized tanker classes.

Buyer demand also covered a wide range of vessel ages. Sales of tankers aged up to five years increased from 19 to 36, while transactions involving 11-to-15-year-old ships rose from 48 to 90.

Older vessels nevertheless continued to account for most activity. Tankers aged 16 to 20 years generated 157 sales, or about 43% of all transactions, compared with 110 a year earlier. In total, 207 tankers more than 16 years old changed hands, representing nearly 57% of market activity.

Undisclosed interests accounted for 171 acquisitions, almost 47% of reported purchases, compared with 70 undisclosed buyers in the previous year. Among identified buyers, South Korean interests acquired 58 vessels, followed by the report’s “Others” category with 52, Greek owners with 47 and Chinese buyers with 37.

Greek investors acquired the same number of tankers as in the comparable 2025 period. On the selling side, however, Greek owners led the market with 70 disposals, up from 49, and accounted for almost one in five tanker sales globally.

Xclusiv said the broader increase reflected stronger investor confidence, improved market liquidity and sustained demand for both modern and vintage tanker assets.