In this article, we are going to list the 12 largest oil tanker companies in the world.
An oil tanker also called a petroleum tanker is a large ship designed to carry oil and its products in bulk to transport it from one point of origin to another. And if we are to talk about really big ships don’t confuse one with the other. Oil tankers carry bulk volumes of unrefined crude oil from oil extraction plants to oil refineries while product tankers transport refined products to facilities where they will be marketed to end consumers.
According to Statista, the capacity of the world’s oil tanker fleet has increased considerably from 1980 to 2020 by more than 77%. Despite the increasing contribution of renewable sources to global energy consumption, the global market remains heavily dependent on oil. In 2020, the world’s oil tanker fleet had a capacity of approximately 601 million deadweight tonnage. The different oil tanker types are categorized by their fleet size: VLCC, Suezmax, and Aframax. As of April 2020, 810 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) were part of the global fleet. In 2019, the highest market share was generated by VLCCs. As oil is the most widely used energy source, increasing energy demand contributes to oil drilling and transport. Check out the 15 Largest Drilling Companies in the world in our separate article.
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COVID-19 has caused numerous disruptions to the global supply chains, which in turn have had an impact on the shipping market. Throughout the pandemic, the International Energy Agency recorded a plunge of 30 million barrel oil consumption per day. The production was an excess of approximately 35 million per day compared to a global demand of 65-70 million barrels a day. Even the largest oil refineries cutting operations didn’t solve the glut of oil amounting to 15 million barrels per day for 2020 and the first few quarters of this year. This is where the oil tanker industry saves the day. As 85% of land-based oil storage facilities are unavailable, the large-scale reserves on tankers at sea became the best option. In March and April 2020, the oil tanker industry saw a boom of 70%. As onshore inventory levels increased, market players turned to use oil tankers to store oil, which is usually more expensive than onshore storage. As oil demand faded, demand for oil storage flew.
As China was the epicenter of the virus, the country reported a 25% drop in oil consumption in the first quarter of 2020. In less than six months, the virus ravaged all around the world. This caused the demand to flop harshly and affected the world’s largest oil consumers such as the UK, the US, Japan, India, and Russia. On the other hand, the crude tanker industry is a highly dynamic market. Growth in the crude oil tanker market has been driven by fluctuating crude oil prices, rising oil demand, and an increasingly urban population. Tanker demand is highly related to the overall oil demand, which is estimated to grow by 5.5mn b/d over the year to 97.2mn b/d in 2021—still below 101.1mn b/d in 2019, according to the IEA.
To give you the most accurate ranking of the biggest oil tanker companies in the world, we gathered the latest financial statement of each tanker companies we have on the list. We sorted the total revenue and assets of the largest oil tanker companies and included the total number of employees under these companies. Let’s start the review of the largest oil tanker companies in the world starting at number 15:
12. Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT)
Revenue: $317.22 million
Market Cap: $437.84 million
Assets: $129.37 million
Number of employees: 21
Headquarters: Hamilton, Bermuda
NAT ranks 12th in our list of the largest oil tanker companies in the world. Formerly known as Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited, the company changed its name to Nordic American Tankers Limited in June 2011. Nordic American Tankers Limited, an international tanker company acquires and charters dual-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. Nordic American Tankers is one of the largest oil tanker companies in the world owning approximately 26 Suezmax vessels with 156,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) each.
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11. Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG)
Revenue: $355.5 million
Market Cap: $192.53 million
Assets: $1.23 billion
Number of employees: 713
Headquarters:
Overseas Shipholding Group offers transportation services for crude oil and refined petroleum products. The fleet of the shipping company includes vessels registered in the United States and a number of other countries. OSG owns approximately 110 vessels with a capacity of 11 million deadweight tons (DWT) each. The company also transports natural gas products.
10. International Seaways (NYSE: INSW)
Revenue: $366.184 million
Market Cap: $491.42 million
Assets: $1.712 billion
Number of employees: 1,642
Headquarters: New York, NY
International Seaways, Inc. is one of the world’s largest tanker companies providing energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products. The oil tanker company owns and operates a fleet of 36 vessels, including 11 VLCCs, 2 Suezmaxes, 4 Aframaxes, 13 Panamaxes, and 4 MR Tankers. International Seaways has part ownership in floating storage and unloading service vessels.
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9. SFL Corp Ltd (NYSE: SFL)
Revenue: $458.849 million
Market Cap: $810.08 million
Assets: $3.7 billion
Number of employees: 50
Headquarters: Hamilton, Bermuda
SFL Corporation Ltd is one of the largest oil tanker companies in the world with approximately a fleet of 84 vessels such as crude oil tankers, bulk and ore vessels, dry bulk carriers, and container ships. Other sources of revenue for SFL Corp Ltd include the chartering, purchase, and sale of assets. The company has established operations through subsidiaries located in Bermuda, Cyprus, Malta, Liberia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands.
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8. Navios Maritime Holdings (NYSE: NM)
Revenue: $484.8 million
Market Cap: $57.17 million
Assets: $2.142 billion
Number of employees: 250
Headquarters: Piareas, Greece
NM ranks 8th in our list of the largest oil tanker companies in the world. Navios Maritime controls a large fleet of advanced crude oil, refined petroleum products, and chemical tankers providing global shipping services. Navios is one of the world’s leading maritime shipping brands, specializing in the global transport, trading, storage, and related logistics of international bulk cargo. The oil tanker company operates a large collection of bulk carriers of Capesize, Panamax, Ultra-Handymax, and Handysize, deploying owned, chartered, and leased vessels. Regionally, the company generates most of its revenue from South America.
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7. Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE: TNP)
Revenue: $512.5 million
Market Cap: $167.14 million
Assets: $3.156 billion
Number of employees: 3,500
Headquarters: Athens, Greece
TNP ranks 7th in our list of the largest oil tanker companies in the world. Tsakos Energy Navigation is one of the largest and oldest independent energy transporters in the world with a dynamic fleet of 64 modern crude oil and product tankers with high ice capacity, shuttle tankers, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels. The company is continuing to grow to be one of the largest ice-class tanker operators in the world among international oil major companies. Tsakos Energy Navigation runs operations around the world including in Greece, the Philippines, Ukraine, Russia, and Romania.
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6. DHT Holdings (NYSE: DHT)
Revenue: $535 million
Market Cap: $941.10 million
Assets: $1.68 billion
Number of employees: 15
Headquarters: Hamilton, Bermuda
DHT is an independent crude oil tanker company that transports services to oil companies and operates a fleet of crude oil tankers in the VLCC, Aframax, and Suezmax segments internationally. The company has established operations through integrated management in Singapore, Norway, and Monaco. Their fleet of 27 VLCCs had a capacity of 8,360,850 deadweight tons in the first quarter of 2020.
5. Frontline Ltd (NYSE: FRO)
Revenue: $957.3 million
Market Cap: $1.22 billion
Assets: $3.134 billion
Number of employees: 70
Headquarters: Hamilton, Bermuda
Frontline Ltd. is one of the largest shipping companies engaged in the transport of crude oil and oil products by sea worldwide. Frontline has 24 very large crude carriers, 28 Suezmax tankers, and 20 Aframaxes, with an average age of only 4 years. Frontline has been formed through a series of major restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions over the last decade.
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4. Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG)
Revenue: $958.1 million
Market Cap: $700.64 million
Assets: $5.16 billion
Number of employees: 19
Headquarters: Monaco
Scorpio Tankers is a global leader in the transport of refined petroleum products. Scorpio Tankers owns and manages first-class tonnage consisting of the latest generation of fuel-efficient tanker vessels from high-quality shipyards. Scorpio Tankers currently holds or finances 128 product tankers and time or bareboat charters-in 10 product tankers.
3. Euronav NV (NSYE: EURN)
Revenue: $1.4 billion
Market Cap: $1.63 billion
Assets: $3.71 billion
Number of employees: 3,110
Headquarters: Antwerp, Belgium
Euronav is a Belgium-based independent firm engaged in the transport and storage of crude oil. It provides shipping services for the transport of crude oil by sea through its segment of tankers. In addition to its fleet of large tankers, Euronav is known for providing shipping services. The company’s ship management services include but are not limited to, technical services, fleet management, environmental, protection management, commercial and operational management.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Teekay Corp (NYSE: TK)
Revenue: $2 billion
Market Cap: $268.95 million
Assets: $2.23 billion
Number of employees: 6,800
Headquarters:
Teekay is a Canadian-based crude oil tanker company specializing in crude oil, LNG, and LPG tankers. Teekay is one of the largest operators of mid-sized tankers including Suezmax, Aframax, and long-range two (LR2) vessels. Teekay presently owns a network of $12 billion, including gas and oil tankers and offshore structures, under headquarters in Canada, London, Bahamas, Bermuda, and Singapore. Teekay operates a number of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) under its North Sea subsidiary Teekay Petrojarl. Aside from operating world-class oil tankers, Teekay offers services such as pool management, fuel services, and tanker management.
1. Mitsui OSK Lines
Revenue: $10.6 billion
Market Cap: $2.1 billion
Assets: $19.4 billion
Number of employees: 8,941
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Topping the list of the largest oil tanker companies in the world is Mitsui OSK Lines. Widely acknowledged as MOL, the company is one of the largest shipping companies in the world and operates a fleet of more than 930 vessels with a total capacity of 66 million tons of deadweight (DWT). The energy transport segment covers tankers, steam-powered coal carriers, LNG carriers, and offshore companies. The world’s largest oil tanker company also specializes in operating container ships, specialized carriers, and ferries. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. provides shipping, warehousing, and cargo handling services. Products transported include coal, iron ore, grain, logs, aluminum, cement, industrial salt, copper ore, wood chips, cars, paper products, chemical products, gasoline, LPG, and other goods.
Please see also: 15 Biggest Shipping Companies In The World and 15 Biggest Petrochemical Companies In The World.
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Disclosure: No position. 12 largest oil tanker companies in the world is originally published at Insider Monkey.
