Brazil will continue to play an important role in the crude tanker markets in the coming years. The VLCC segment will be the main beneficiary, followed by suezmaxes.
Production in Brazil has been growing fast, and crude exports have been rising, and the VLCC segment’s share of seaborne exports has risen to 64%. Brazilian exports to China increased significantly in 2023, and nearly all of this cargo is carried on VLCCs.
We see this trend reflected in our VLCC fixture data. Looking at VLCC spot cargo liftings in Brazil, we note steady growth throughout the last decade and a sharp rise in 2023, where we count close to 200 liftings. Brazil remains an important driver going into 2024, and initial data points indicate that VLCC volumes are not slowing down.
Source: Tankers International VLCC Database
