.png)
Watch the webinar
%201.svg)
Synopsis
The Shadow fleet expanded sharply through 2025 as sanctioned oil flows surged, but 2026 is likely to be different. A combination of political shifts in Venezuela, intensified pressure on refiners of Russian crude, unrest in Iran, and an ongoing crude surplus are set to alter trade flows and encourage a pivot back toward commercial tankers.
What you'll learn
- Weak West-East puts VLCC demand emphasis on MEG
- Shadow fleet faces a reckoning after losing Venezuela
- Loss of long-haul crude flows plus CPC outage pushes mid-sizes to multi-year highs
- Russian crude and derived products see trade flows changes
- MR rates rise but supply-side headwinds persist
Meet the speakers
Matt Wright
Matthew Wright is the Lead Freight Analyst at Kpler. In his role, he leads on providing clients with expertise, analysis and research on the freight markets. Prior to Kpler, Matthew was a Senior Tanker Analyst at SSY ship brokers, where he was responsible for analysing oil tanker markets, leading the development of new models and handling consulting inquiries. Matthew has extensive oil market experience from seven years in consulting at Argus Media where he worked on a range of single client projects before moving on to manage the delivery the subscription reports focusing on freight, crude and refined products.
