LR2 tankers record 28% drop in clean product volumes

LR2 fleet capacity expanded 18% since Q2 2025.

LR2 product tankers recorded a 28% year-on-year decline in clean product volumes loaded during the first nine months of 2026 following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, BIMCO reported.

However, tonne-mile demand increased 2% as higher crude oil and heavy product shipments offset the decline, according to BIMCO Chief Shipping Analyst Niels Rasmussen.

LR2 tankers loaded an average of 2.1 million barrels per day (mbpd) of clean products during the first three quarters of 2026, down 0.8 mbpd from the same period in 2025. In 2025, more than 40% of clean product volumes carried by LR2s were loaded in the Persian Gulf, equivalent to 1.2 mbpd.

Following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, volumes from the region fell to 0.4 mbpd in 2026, accounting for 18% of all clean product volumes loaded on LR2s.

Crude oil and heavy product volumes more than offset the decline, averaging 5.1 mbpd during the first nine months of 2026, up 1.8 mbpd year-on-year.

“As a result, LR2s loaded 1.0 mbpd more during the first nine months of 2026 than in the same period of 2025, an increase of 15%,” said Rasmussen.

Despite the increase in volumes, tonne-mile demand rose only 2% as average sailing distances fell 12%. Volumes lost from the Persian Gulf had travelled longer-than-average routes, whilst replacement volumes generally travelled shorter distances.

Higher volumes from the Mediterranean and the Americas accounted for 80% of the increase in crude oil and heavy product shipments, although LR2s gained volumes in almost all loading regions.

In the US and Canada, growth in crude oil and heavy product volumes loaded onto LR2s exceeded the overall increase in exports from both countries. The vessels also carried nearly 30% of the increase in Venezuela’s crude oil and heavy product exports.

The largest increases occurred on routes from the US Gulf to North Europe, Venezuela to the US, Canada's west coast to North Asia, and North Africa to Italy. Across existing and additional shipments, the average sailing distance for crude oil and heavy products carried by LR2s was 33% shorter than that for clean products.

“The increase in crude oil and heavy product volumes carried by LR2s since the second quarter of 2025 has coincided with an 18% expansion in LR2 fleet capacity,” Rasmussen said.

He said a large order book and limited recycling potential are expected to drive further LR2 fleet growth in the coming years. By contrast, a smaller order book and greater recycling potential are expected to limit growth in the Aframax crude tanker fleet.

“We therefore expect LR2s’ dependence on crude oil and heavy product exports to continue,” said Rasmussen.