The Brazilian state oil company Petrobras has become one of the biggest winners in the tanker market in the first half of 2026, as disruptions in the Middle East shifted demand for tankers towards oil flows from the Atlantic basin.
According to a report by Poten & Partners on the interim results of the tanker market, Unipec retained its position as the largest operator of dirty tanker charters, booking 244 deals. However, its dominance in the VLCC segment has weakened: the number of deals fell from 317 in the first half of 2025 to 217 this year.
At the same time, Petrobras increased its VLCC deals from 52 to 73, representing a 40% growth, and rose from sixth to second place in the overall ranking of dirty tanker charters by Poten. The total number of deals placed it ahead of TotalEnergies, Chevron, and ExxonMobil in terms of cargo volume, trailing only Unipec.
Poten links the broader decline in tanker activity to the conflict in the Middle East, which effectively excluded the Arabian Gulf from the spot market for about four months. The consulting firm also noted a decrease in oil imports to China following disruptions, which put pressure on demand for cargoes from the Middle East.
