Aerial photo of an oil tanker at anchor. Stock Photo: Nickeo23/Shutterstock
(Bloomberg) —
Trafigura Group bought seven oil tankers from New York-listed SFL Corp., in the latest example of how trading houses and state energy companies are acquiring vessels to ship crude and products.
Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have drawn in scores of tankers to shuttle key oil flows out to the global market, while growing risks in the Red Sea are leading to longer voyage routes and times. That’s prompted a rush to snap up tankers as rates to charter vessels soar.
Trafigura bought four oil product tankers known as LR2s — built in 2014 and 2015 — and three suezmax tankers built in 2019, SFL said in a statement on Wednesday. The vessels will be delivered over the course of the next six months.
A spokesperson for Trafigura declined to comment.
SFL said it had made an “aggregate book gain” of $175 million from the deal, without disclosing the sale price of the vessels.
Strong demand for prompt availability of oil carriers have pushed the resale values of tankers higher. A 10-year-old Aframax, which is the same size as an LR2 tanker, was assessed to be worth $72.5 million last week, while a Suezmax of the same age could sell for $110 million, Clarkson data show.
Trafigura recently made its first foray into launching a public company, listing a supertanker vehicle Volare Shipping Ltd. on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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