Tanker market outlook Q4 2026: Record freight, tightening supply and the road to 2027

• Middle East and Gulf of Oman: With Saudi exports rerouted into the Gulf and Hormuz flows normalising without a deal, we explain how cargoes are moving.
• Beyond the Middle East: The rally is spilling into Suezmaxes and Aframaxes as Europe scrambles for Atlantic and West African barrels, and we look at how long that support can last.
• Clean tanker demand: Record dirty earnings have kept LR2s and a record number of MRs out of clean trades just as Middle East and Asian exports recover, pushing LR2 rates to an all-time high.
• Long-term view: We lay out the clean and dirty outlook through 2027, from a clean ton-mile recovery to the shift in dirty demand now that a Hormuz deal is no longer our base case.

‍